Intraoperative demonstration of Mikulicz cells in nasal scleroma. A case report

The frozen section diagnosis of scleroma (rhinoscleroma) may pose some difficulty to the unsuspecting pathologist. Intraoperative cytology is a helpful technique that, when combined with frozen section, enhances the diagnostic accuracy. Imprint smears obtained from a tissue sample of an obstructive nasal mucosal mass demonstrated the characteristic Mikulicz cells, thus confirming the frozen section diagnosis of scleroma. The importance of intraoperative cytology in the evaluation of surgical specimens is emphasized.