Fine needle aspiration as a means to cost-effective health care

Public opinion, the federal government, and financial constraints are demanding that the cost of medical care be controlled. Physicians are keenly aware of this problem. We believe that the contribution of fine needle aspiration to cost containment has not yet been fully recognized. We advocate fine needle aspiration as the initial diagnostic procedure on any palpable lesion. We present some cases from our daily practice diagnosed by this simple technique, with the aim of demonstrating how it can help clinicians and surgeons to achieve their goal of accurate and prompt diagnosis with less expense to the patient.