| Telephone Numbers: |
(617) 636-5828 during regular hours of operation. Both attending and resident pathologists on call can be reached at all times through the page operator at (617) 636-5111.
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| Hours: |
Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Evening, weekend and other emergency coverage is provided by an on-call staff pathologist and a resident. After hour requests should be arranged with the on-call staff pathologist or resident.
Laboratory personnel are available for processing of any rush specimens during weekends and holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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| Services: |
The Division of Anatomic Pathology is a full service laboratory which provides routine and specialized service to patients at Tufts Medical Center and to a variety of other hospitals and physician groups. The division is organized into 4 sections, which include surgical pathology, neuropathology, cytopathology and autopsy pathology. In addition, there is a special procedures laboratory and a molecular pathology laboratory.
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| Surgical Pathology: |
This section provides gross and microscopic examinations of all surgical specimens, including documentation of foreign bodies, orthopedic hardware and all prosthetic devices. This section also provides operating room consultative services, including frozen section examination and consultative services for fine needle aspiration biopsies performed both on in-patients and out-patients.
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| Neuropathology: |
This section provides gross and microscopic examinations of all neurosurgical specimens, including routine and specialized examinations of muscle and nerve biopsies. In addition, this section also provides gross and microscopic examinations of all neuropathological specimens obtained at autopsy.
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| Cytopathology: |
This section provides a full range of diagnostic cytopathological examinations of both gynecological and non-gynecological specimens.
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| Autopsy Pathology: |
This section provides complete or limited postmortem examinations on all days of the week including weekends from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A provisional anatomic diagnosis is generally available within 3 days of the postmortem examination.
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| Special Procedures: |
This section provides a full range of special procedures including lymphoid marker analysis, estrogen and progesterone receptor analysis, immunofluorescent staining of renal and skin biopsies, general immunohistochemistry, muscle and nerve biopsy analysis and electron microscopy.
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Histocompatibility/
Molecular Pathology: |
This section provides a full range of molecular diagnostic testing procedures including blot analyses, PCR testing and in situ hybridization assays.
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| Special Information: |
All specimens, together with the completed requisition forms should be delivered to the central specimen receiving area (Ziskind 504) for accessioning and processing. All specimen containers must be labeled with the patient’s name, hospital number, date and specimen type. If the specimen is delivered after regular hours or requires special handling, the on-call resident in anatomic pathology should be paged at 1420.
For frozen section examinations during regular hours, the operating room personnel should call the department (ext. 5828) before the specimen is sent. At all other times, the on-call resident should be paged. Specimens for frozen section examination should be submitted in the unfixed state. A sterile container should be used if microbiological cultures are anticipated.
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| Routine Biopsies: |
The standard fixative used in our department is 10% neutral buffered formalin. Containers with fixative are available in the operating room and on all patient floors and clinics. Requests for additional containers with fixative should be addressed to Mr. Michael LeBlanc at extension 5828.
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| Bone Marrow Biopsies: |
All bone marrow biopsies are routinely fixed in FIX ALL. This fixative is available to the hematology residents in in-patient and out-patient areas. The time at which the specimen has been placed in fixative must be recorded in order to avoid over-fixation.
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| Biopsies Requiring Special Handling: |
To ensure proper processing, the following specimen types should be brought to the central receiving area in the fresh state: kidney, lymph node, muscle and nerve, and open lung biopsy.
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| Requisition Form: |
All "inpatient" and "outpatient" specimens must be accompanied by a pathology requisition form (#113616), which must be completed prior to the accessioning of the specimen. This form must be imprinted with the patient’s identification card. The completed form should also include the name, telephone number and page number of the requesting physician.
The form should include specimen type, specific anatomic location and the date/time of procurement. The clinical diagnoses and clinical history should be indicated in the section labeled "Clinical Information". The submitting physician should indicate whether the examination requested is "rush" or "routine" and whether it represents a frozen section. If the specimen has been placed in fixative, the time should be indicated.
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| Histology Laboratory: |
HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday-Thursday: 5:30am-4:30pm
Friday: 5:30am-6:00pm
Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays:
8am-4:30pm (on call)
CONTACT INFORMATION
Laboratory Phone: 617-636-5825
Laboratory Fax: 617-636-1483
Special Procedures: IHC/EM: 617-636-8238
Laboratory Supervisor: 617-636-1111
The Histology Laboratory generally sections 3 levels on most small biopsy specimens. Sections are routinely stained with hematoxylin and eosin. A large variety of special and immunohistochemical stains are available at the request of an attending pathologist or resident.
Surgical specimens are routinely processed on an eight hour run overnight and are ready for embedding and sectioning the next morning. A 2-hour special run is available for RUSH cases daily at 11:00 a.m. Specimens must be brought to the department by 9:30 a.m. to allow for adequate fixation for this type of rush processing. On Fridays, a second 2-hour special run is available at 2:00 p.m. Specimens must be received by 12:30 p.m. for this second run in order to ensure proper fixation.
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| Reporting of Results: |
For rush cases, results are generally available on the same day (if the specimen has been received by 9:30 a.m. on Monday through Thursday or by 12:30 p.m. on Friday). If the specimen has been received after these cut-off times, results will be available by 11:00 a.m. on the following morning.
The turnaround time for most non-rush cases is approximately 2 days from the receipt of the specimen. Preliminary diagnoses may be obtained by calling the department at extension 5828. Copies of the final report are sent directly to the patient’s chart and to the responsible physician. Reports are available on-line on Sorian.
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| Review of Results: |
In order to review a particular case, the department should be called in advance in order to provide sufficient time for collection of all pertinent materials.
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Referrals to
other Hospitals: |
Requests for slides for referrals to other hospitals must be accompanied by a release form to be signed by the patient or his/her proxy.
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