[Indications and value of intraoperative microscopic studies (rapid diagnostic biopsy)]

An account is given of general and specialised indications for immediate sections for diagnosis, and reference is made to an analysis of intraoperative histopathological immediate section diagnoses made in the laboratory of the Surgical Department at Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, GDR. Accurate diagnosis was achieved by immediate section in 93 per cent of all cases under reviews. Results deviated from paraffin section diagnosis in 5.6 per cent of the cases, with 0.46 per cent of these being falsely positive and 5.1 per cent falsely negative. Immediate section for diagnosis failed at all in 1.4 per cent of those cases. In dubious cases (suspicious diagnosis) or in situations of discrepancy between clinical, macroscopic, and not fully secured immediate section diagnoses major ablative operations should not be performed until adequate information has been obtained from paraffin section diagnosis. Intraoperative immediate section diagnosis, on balance, has proved to be a highly dependable, high-speed method. Major ablative oncological operations should no longer be performed without it.