Surgical Pathology

Good medical practice requires a tissue diagnosis prior to planning and initiating therapy.

The field of surgical pathology evaluates tissues removed from living patients during surgery or other types of invasive procedures in order to:

• Diagnose a disease and aid in the development of a treatment plan
• Provide information regarding prognosis such as:
  • Status of surgical margins (complete or incomplete removal of disease)
  • Size and extent of disease, including tumor invasion into adjacent structures
  • Tumor grade (well, moderately, or poorly differentiated)
  • Presence of metastasis to regional lymph nodes or distant organs