Ex Vivo Fluorescence Confocal Microscopy for intraoperative evaluations of staple lines and surgical margins in specimens of the lung - a proof-of-concept study.

Intraoperative consultation is frequently used during the surgical treatment of lung tumors for the diagnosis of malignancy and the assessment of surgical margins. The latter is often problematic given the nature of the applied staple lines, which cannot be readily examined in frozen sections. Seventy-nine samples of surgical margins (71 staple lines and 8 open margins) from 52 lung specimens were examined using an ex vivo fluorescence confocal microscope (FCM).

Ex Vivo Fluorescence Confocal Microscopy for Intraoperative Examinations of Lung Tumors as Alternative to Frozen Sections-A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Background: Intraoperative frozen sections (FS) are frequently used to establish the diagnosis of lung cancer when preoperative examinations are not conclusive. The downside of FS is its resource-intensive nature and the risk of tissue depletion when small lesions are assessed. Ex vivo fluorescence confocal microscopy (FCM) is a novel microimaging method for loss-free examinations of native materials.