Frozen section diagnosis in ophthalmic pathology

Frozen section diagnosis is extensively used in various branches of pathology, but its application in ophthalmic pathology was recognised only in the 1970s. We studied 10 sections of ocular and adenexal lesions by frozen section diagnosis, which included orbital lesions (4 cases), lid lesions (3 cases), and intraocular tissue (1 case). The time taken for processing ranged between 10 to 15 minutes. Diagnoses based on frozen section evaluation included lymphoma, mesenchymal chondrosarcoma, solar keratosis, compound naevus, silicone oil globules in cataractous lens, neurofibromatosis, pseudotumour, retinoblastoma, and chronic blepharitis. Although further histopathologic examination correlated well with the frozen section (100%) observations, the diagnosis was deferred in the case of naevus and reactive lymphoid hyperplasia. Our study shows that frozen section diagnosis in ophthalmic surgery is quite reliable and is particularly useful in ocular adenexal lesions.