Frozen Section/Intra-Operative Consultation (FS/IOC)

Department

Histology

Instructions

The Pathology Laboratory should be notified in advance of specimen collection, or the pathologist can be paged at the numbers below.

• Dearborn: 
  Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 5:30 pm
  1) Call the Mobile Heartbeat Frozen line by entering "Frozen" or "Anatomic Pathology."
  2) If Mobile Heartbeat is not accessible, dial Histology directly 313-593-7912.
  Weekends and Holidays: Friday after 5:30 pm – Monday 8:00 am
  Page the pathologist on-call using the Frozen Section pager:
  In-house paging: 848-3217, Outside paging: 313-436-2848, pager # 3217.

• Farmington Hills:
  Monday – Friday, 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
  OR calls to notify staff of a Frozen Section being delivered to the lab.
  After hours, Weekends, and Holidays:
  OR staff will call Farmington Hills Operator (947-521-8000) to contact the on-call pathologist.

• Grosse Pointe:
  Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 5:30pm
  OR will deliver the specimen to the Surgical Pathology laboratory. 


• Royal Oak:
  Monday – Friday, 7:00am – 6:00pm
  OR staff will notify pathology by utilizing a broadcast message to either the “MHB Royal Oak Anatomic Pathology North Tower Frozen Section” or “MHB Royal Oak Anatomic Pathology South Tower Frozen Section” groups within Mobile Heartbeat. The same groups will be notified during off hours, weekends and holidays.



• Taylor: 
  OR calls 313 295-5365 to notify of a Frozen Section being sent down.

• Trenton: 
  OR calls 734 671-3868 to notify of a Frozen Section being sent down.

• Troy:
  Monday – Friday, 7:30 am – 5:00 pm
  OR will contact the “Pathology Provider Daytime” using Mobile Heartbeat.
  After hours, weekends and holidays: OR staff will notify the “Pathology Provider After Hours” in Mobile Heartbeat.
  

• Wayne: 
  OR calls 734 467-4275 or AP Tech's Mobile Heartbeat phone to notify of a Frozen Section being sent down. 

Specimen Collection Criteria

Collect: Fresh, unfixed tissue specimens in an appropriate specimen container. DO NOT place tissue specimens into Formalin or any other fixative.

• Specimen should be delivered immediately to the Pathology Frozen Section Laboratory; delay in delivery could compromise quality of processing and affect final diagnosis. At Troy and Royal Oak Hospitals, the pathologist will pick up the tissue from the operating room or it will be delivered by OR staff. Dearborn pathologists will pick up the tissue from the operating room. 

• Farmington Hills:
  OR staff deliver the Frozen Section specimens to the Pathology Laboratory.

• Specimen container must be labeled with the patient's full name (first and last), date of birth, hospital number (MRN), specimen source and specimen number. Each specimen must be accompanied by a printed Operative Report and an EPIC HSC label including the patient's full name (first and last), date of birth, hospital number (MRN), and specimen source, or the Pathologist must complete an FS/IOC form to include the patient's full name (first and last), MRN, and specimen site. This information is taken directly from the patient's specimen container.

• Taylor & Trenton:
  OR staff deliver.

• Wayne: 
  OR staff deliver the Frozen Section specimens to the Frozen Section Room.

Rejection Criteria

• Missing or conflicting patient/specimen information on the specimen container or requisition.
• Tissue not received fresh (placed into fixative) may be compromised. A frozen section may or may not be attempted at the discretion of the pathologist.

Inpatient Specimen Preparation

• The fresh specimen is transported from the surgery suite to the Frozen Section Laboratory by the pathologist or OR staff.
• At West Bloomfield, the fresh tissue specimen is transported from the surgery suite to the Frozen Section Laboratory by a surgical nurse.

In-Lab Processing

• The pathologist will select a portion of the tissue specimen to be frozen, cut in the cryostat and stained with the FS H&E staining procedure. The pathologist will then view the slide under the microscope and render an interpretation. Some specimens may be evaluated by gross examination rather than frozen section as determined by the pathologist in consultation with the surgeon (OR consultation). Other specimen evaluations may use touch preparations stained with either an H&E or Diff-Quik stain instead of frozen section (OR consultation with intraoperative cytologic examination).
• Upon completion of Frozen Section/Intra-Operative Consultation, the frozen section tissue is placed into a tissue cassette and it is placed back into original labeled container along with any other residual tissue with 10% neutral buffered formalin added. Specimens are transported to the Surgical Pathology area at each site.
• Dearborn, the tissue is placed in a rack for routine processing and handed out with the case. 
• At West Bloomfield, specimens can be placed into a larger draw-string tote bag for delivery to the designated courier pick-up station. If a STAT pick-up is required, contact Courier Services at 248-551-7915.

Storage

Specimen Stability for Testing:

Fresh, unfixed tissue specimens must be transported to the Laboratory immediately after collection, at room temperature (20-26°C or 68-78.8°F), and are processed immediately upon receipt.

Specimen Storage in Department Prior to Disposal:

Tissue cassettes and residual tissue are stored in 10% neutral buffered formalin, at room temperature (20-26°C or 68-78.8°F).

Performed

Dearborn
Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 5:30 pm
Call Mobile Heartbeat Frozen Line. If not accessible, call Histology 313-593-7912.
Weekends and Holidays: Friday – Monday, after 5:30 pm – 8:00 am
Page pathologist on call. In-house 848-3217, or for outside paging use 313-436-2848 pager # 3217.

Farmington Hills
Monday – Friday, 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
Weekends and Holidays: after 5:00 pm
Contact the Farmington Hills operator 947-521-8000 to page the on-call pathologist.

Grosse Pointe
Monday – Friday, 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
Weekends and Holidays: after 5:00 pm
Page the on-call pathologist.

Royal Oak
Monday – Friday, 7:30 am – 6:00 pm
Between 6:00 pm and 7:30 am next business day.
Weekends and Holidays:
The on-call pathologist must be paged prior to procedure.

Taylor
Monday – Friday, 7:00 am – 2:00 pm
Weekends and Holidays: after 4:00 pm
The AP staff will page the on-call pathologist.   

Trenton
Monday – Friday, 7:00 am – 2:00 pm
Weekends and Holidays: after 4:00 pm
The AP staff will page the on-call pathologist.   

Troy
Monday – Friday, 7:30 am – 5:00 pm
Page OR Frozen Section Pathologist on  at 248-995-9847. 
Weekends and Holidays: after 5:00 pm
Page on-call pathologist at 248-995-2344.

Wayne
Monday – Friday, 7:00 am – 2:00 pm.
Weekends and Holidays: after 4:00 pm
The AP staff will page the on-call pathologist.   

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, as needed.
Pathology will be notified via email 24 hours in advance. 

Test Methodology

Frozen Section/Intra-Operative Consultation.

Interpretation

All frozen section diagnosis/intra-operative consultations are rendered by a pathologist board certified in anatomic pathology.

Contacts

Last Updated

10/16/2025