Pathology

In most cases, depending on your insurance, we will call you with your biopsy results one to two days after your visit. You will receive your results so quickly because Dr. Geller is both a Board-Certified Dermatologist and a Board-Certified Dermatopathologist, and he has the expertise and experience to read your biopsy slides right in the office. Two years of his training, at New York University and the Mayo Clinic, were dedicated exclusively to skin pathology and diagnosing lesions under the microscope. In early 2008, the office completed construction of a new state-of-the-art histopathology laboratory. Dr. Geller’s laboratory technicians collectively have many decades of experience in tissue processing and histotechnology and take great pride in preparing your biopsy specimens in a most professional manner.

Steps to Preparing Your Specimen For Diagnosis

After you have a biopsy, the nurse brings the specimen to the nurse’s station and enters it in the specimen log. A laboratory technician then transports the specimen to the dermatopathology laboratory and commences the following process:

1. Grossing of the biopsy specimens: The histotechnician measures your specimen and inserts it into a labeled cassette. The specimens are then loaded into the tissue processor.
2. Processing the specimens: An overnight procedure in which the tissue processor prepares the biopsy specimens for embedding. Embedding means encasing the specimen in a wax (paraffin) block. The laboratory has two state-of-the-art Shandon Thermo Scientific Excelsior Tissue Processors.
3. Microtomy: The process of cutting very thin sections of the embedded section with a microtome and then mounting the sections onto a glass slide. The laboratory has four microtomes for the technicians to use as well as three Tissue Prep Flotation Baths to facilitate the process.
4. Staining: The glass slide is stained using different tissue reagents (chemicals) to enhance the specimen for Dr. Geller to diagnose under the microscope. The laboratory has two state-of-the-art Shandon Varistain Automatic Slide Stainers.
5. Cover slipping and labeling: The technician affixes a cover slip to each specimen to enable proper readability and then attaches a label. Cover slipping is performed under one of two cutting-edge BAC Laboratory Fume Hoods. The completed specimens are then delivered to Dr. Geller for interpretation.
6. Dr. Geller diagnoses the biopsy specimens, usually between noon and 2 PM each day.
7. Dr. Geller meets with the nursing staff and reviews the biopsy results. The nurses then attach your results to your chart and call you to review them and to answer your questions. You should expect a call at or after 2PM.
8. The biopsy reports are typed and collated later that afternoon and prepared for insertion into patient charts.

   Technicians in front of tissue stainer and laboratory fume hood.	Technician in front of tissue stainer	Preparation of biopsy specimens for cover slipping under laboratory fume hood.
   	< Technicians working at microtome stations. >
   Embedding Center, Computer Monitor for Stainer, and Tissue Stainer from left to right.	Dr. Geller reviewing a specimen.	This monitor screen on the Shandon Thermo Scientific Excelsior Processor allows our histotechnicians to continuously monitor the processing of the tissue specimens.