Improving placental block morphology using microwave-assisted fixation

ABSTRACT

The histopathologic assessment of placenta is often marred by poorly fixed and processed sections. An audit conducted in the department resulted in 21% of placental blocks showing features of poor processing. A microwave-assisted fixation procedure was introduced using the Micromed KOS microwave oven (ABACUS-ALS, Brisbane, Australia) for 2 h at 45°C. This resulted in an improvement in the quality of the sections with a zero failure rate on a subsequent audit.

KEYWORDS:

• Histotechnology
• microwave-assisted fixation
• placenta

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Dr Michael Krivanek and Gayle Callis for their advice in the preparation of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.