[Intraoperative frozen sections of the thyroid gland]

The goal of evaluation of intraoperative frozen sections of the thyroid gland is to achieve a definitive diagnosis which determines the subsequent surgical management as fast as possible; however, due to the specific methodological situation of thyroid frozen sections evaluation a conclusive diagnosis can be made in only some of the cases. If no conclusive histological diagnosis is possible during the operation, subsequent privileged processing of the specimen allows a final diagnosis at the latest within 48 h in almost all remaining cases. Applying this strategy, both pathologists and surgeons require a high level of communication and knowledge regarding the specific diagnostic and therapeutic peculiarities of thyroid malignancies because different surgical strategies must be employed depending on the histological tumor subtype.