Role of microwaves in rapid processing of tissue for histopathology

Aim: The primary aim of the following study is to study the utility of microwave stimulated rapid processing of tissues for histopathology and the secondary aim is to compare the quality of the final product obtained after microwave stimulated rapid tissue processing with the conventional method. Materials and Methods: During the 3 years period of study, 150 cases were studied which were randomly selected from the tissues sent for histopathology. Tissues were processed by conventional method and by microwave assisted tissue processing. Results: Slides obtained by microwave and conventional tissue processing were statistically analyzed by using Chi-square test. The results obtained showed that the cellular and nuclear features of microwave processed tissues were comparable to conventionally processed tissue. Microwave assisted tissue processing reduced the total time for preparing tissue blocks to about an hour. Conclusion: Microwave stimulated processing provides an attractive alternative over traditional conventional processing