Fine needle aspiration (FNA) of soft tissue tumours (STT)

Objectives: The cytological findings of 50 ST Ts were evaluated aiming to determine the role of FNA in diagnosis of STTs Methods: Fifty patients with soft tissue tumours underwent FNA in the preoperative investigation during a one year period. The smears were stained with Papanicolaou and May-Graunvald Giemsa stains. Results: Forty-four cases were reported as benign, whereas 2 were malignant. Four cases revealed insufficient material. The malignant STTs were small round cell tumour and malignant spindle cell tumour. Cytological and histological correlation could be achieved in 40 cases. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 25% and 100% respectively with overall accuracy of 80%. Conclusion: A reliable diagnosis of STTs can be made with FNA when supported by other clinical and other diagnostic data. Key words: FNA, soft tissue tumours.     

A Cadaveric and in vitro Controlled Comparative Investigation of Percutaneous Spinal Cord Lead Anchoring

Spinal cord stimulator lead migration is a common problem. Anchor design may be a factor in its prevention. We have undertaken a cadaveric and in vitro comparative investigation of the force required to cause lead migration with a variety of anchor types. Thirty‐eight spinal cord stimulator leads were anchored with short silastic (N = 8), long silastic (N = 16) and titanium (N = 10) devices in cadavers. Twenty‐eight further spinal cord stimulator lead anchorings were undertaken on the bench with the titanium anchor and three different octrode leads. The median force to cause lead movement in cadavers was 0.55 Newtons (N) for short silastic anchors, 0.81 N and 0.63 N for two types of long silastic anchor, and 1.3 N for the titanium anchor. There was a significant difference between long and short silastic anchors (p < 0.01) and a significant difference between the titanium anchor and the silastic anchors (p < 0.003). There was an insignificant difference in the force required to cause lead movement repeated by the same operator (p = 0.36). There was no significant difference between inexperienced and experienced operators (p = 0.88). There was no significant difference between the different leads using the titanium anchor (p = 0.06). The titanium anchor prevents simulated lead movement at greater forces that the silastic anchors with a variety of leads. For silastic anchors, movement occurred at median force below that simulated with spinal movement; for the titanium anchor, movement occurred at a median force above that simulated with spinal movement. Further in vivo investigations are warranted to assess the potential of titanium anchoring to significantly reduce spinal cord stimulator lead migration.