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Study of shrinkage of cutaneous surgical specimens
Author(s) -
BlascoMorente Gonzalo,
GarridoColmenero Cristina,
PérezLópez Israel,
CarreteroGarcía Simplicio,
MartínCastro Aurelio,
AriasSantiago Salvador,
TercedorSánchez Jesús
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of cutaneous pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1600-0560
pISSN - 0303-6987
DOI - 10.1111/cup.12401
Subject(s) - shrinkage , in vivo , trunk , ex vivo , medicine , fixation (population genetics) , pathology , histopathology , surgery , biology , materials science , ecology , microbiology and biotechnology , environmental health , composite material , population
Background The assessment of discrepancies between surgical and histopathological measurements of specimens is important in order to avoid repeat surgery and unnecessary follow‐ups. Objectives The objective of this study was to quantify the degree, time and influential factors of shrinkage of cutaneous surgical specimens. Methods Data of 111 patients were gathered on age, sex, localization, diagnosis and specimen width and length before surgical excision ( in vivo ), at 5 min postsurgery ( ex vivo ) and after 24 h of fixation in 10% buffered formalin ( postfixation ). Results The length and width were significantly lower in the postfixation vs. in vivo specimens, with a mean shrinkage of 17.0% in the length (p < 0.01) and 9.5% in the width (p < 0.01). 81.8% and 92.3% of the total shrinkage in length and weight was observed between in vivo and ex vivo measurements. No significant differences were observed as a function of sex, age or diagnosis. A greater shrinkage in length between in vivo and postfixation was found in specimens from the trunk. Limitations The most of the skin samples were diseased. Conclusion The largest proportion of specimen shrinkage occurred within 5 min of its excision and the shrinkage was greater in specimens from the trunk.