 July 19, 2002
Tissue samples (biopsies) or organs removed from patients at KGH are examined by board certified pathologist Isabell E. Speer, MD to look for diseases such as cancer or infection. First, the tissue is examined by visual inspection and dissection, usually on the working day it is received in the Pathology Department. Then in most instances it is also examined microscopically. For this the cells must be captured as close as possible to how they existed in the living body. This is accomplished by preserving and hardening the tissue in a tissue processor to prevent its being disrupted or destroyed. The processor contains chemicals and is programmed with precise time, temperature and vacuum pressure. The tissue is placed in the processor for 12 hours (usually overnight). The next morning, KGH certified histotechnologist Kimberly Benson begins the sensitive work of embedding the tissue in paraffin wax so that it can be cut into very thin sections, one to three cells thick, and placed on a glass microscope slide. Then the wax is melted away and the tissues stained to enhance the cellular detail under the microscope. The pathologist then examines
the slide microscopically to look for disease processes. In most
instances, the patient and physician will have an answer to their
question (the most feared one: "do I have cancer?")
within one working day of their biopsy. Without the tissue processor,
tissues would be sent south, delaying diagnosis and treatment
by about one week, and increasing risk of loss during transport.
"There have been countless times we have smiled knowing
an anxious patient would hear a diagnosis from his or her doctor
the next day. We feel good about that and our part in serving
Ketchikan patients, " said Dr. Speer.
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