Extraadrenal myelolipoma. A lesion that can be diagnosed by fine needle aspiration biopsy

A case of extraadrenal myelolipoma is briefly reviewed. Comparison of a previous fine needle aspiration (FNA) smear, diagnosed elsewhere as inflammatory, with the histologic sections from the resected lesion showed both to contain the diagnostic myeloid cells and megakaryocytes. The fat seen in the sections was not evident in the Papanicolaou-stained FNA smear. This case suggests that extraadrenal myelolipoma can be diagnosed by FNA biopsy, especially when the FNA findings are combined with the characteristic computed tomographic findings. A Romanovsky stain would help to emphasize the hemopoietic nature of the lesion. The potential value of cytologic imprints in making the intraoperative diagnosis is also noted.