[Immediate intraoperative cytological diagnosis of tumors of the ovaries]

Suboperative cytological examination of 86 neoplastic and 4 non-tumor lesions of the ovaries was performed. Phase-contrast, supravital and luminescent microscopy and stained smears from different parts of excised tumor were used simultaneously. Ovarian tumors were shown to have definite cytomorphological features which permit identification of benign and malignant tumors and, in most cases, their histological pattern, too. Three degrees of proliferation of epithelium in serous cystadenoma that require different clinical approach, were distinguished. Correct diagnosis was established in 92.2% of cases. This figure amounted to 95.5% (67 patients) in the benign tumor group, while diagnostic errors were made in 4.5% of cases. In the malignancy group those figures were 91.3 and 8.6%, respectively. Suboperative cytological examination can be carried out within 7-10 minutes; it allows to avoid errors in specimen preparation and is of high diagnostic value.