Domestic microwave based rapid tissue processing versus conventional tissue processing – A comparative study in small biopsies

Turnaround time has now-a-days become increasingly important. Conventional tissue processing is a time consuming procedure. Recently microwave tissue processing has been shown to reduce the processing time significantly. Laboratory microwaves are sophisticated costly instruments to be used routinely especially in developing nations like India. In the present study kitchen microwave was used for tissue processing to evaluate its usefulness in terms of quality and time saving in comparison with conventional one. 126 paired specimens were evaluated in a blinded fashion by two pathologists. Each H&E stained slide is evaluated based on the criterias laid down by Kumar et al 2014. Statistical evaluation of the two procedures using a chi-square test showed no significant difference in the sections produced by both the procedures.