Dear Colleagues, Im reaching out to the group to ask for input regarding microscopic folds in GI biopsy sections. Im hoping for some tricks of the trade suggestions.
In our lab, sections appear flat and well-relaxed on the water bath with no visible gross folds. However, after H&E staining, the pathologist identifies epithelial microfolds in small GI biopsies (esophagus, stomach, colon). These are not visible before staining and are occurring across multiple techs. We currently use Leica Paraplast Plus (polymer-enhanced paraffin). We have reviewed and optimized: Embedding orientation (flat, mucosa aligned) Water bath temperature and float time Blade angle and cutting speed Section thickness (4 µm) Despite this, we continue to see post-stain microfolding. For those of you who cut a high volume of GI biopsies: · Have you found certain paraffins perform better (e.g., low-melt, non-polymer)? · Do you run a different water bath temperature specifically for GI? · Any tricks of the trade for minimizing epithelial compression that arent in the textbooks? I would greatly appreciate any practical advice or shared experience. Thank you in advance for your insights. Best regards, Paula Lucas Histology Laboratory/BioPath Medical Group We are doing a lot more GI cases, and were experiencing complaints from the pathologist about folds. There are microscopic and are interfering with taking images. Can someone recommend tricks to the trade of minimizing these folds in the sections? Thank you in advance, Paula BioPath Medical Group _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
