Intraoperative assessment of thyroid and parathyroid lesions.

The value of intraoperative frozen section analysis of thyroid nodules and of parathyroid lesions continues to change as new and ancillary techniques (both preopearative and intraoperative) become widely used, eg, fine needle aspiration, new radiologic scan techniques, rapid hormone assays. This articles reviews the use of frozen section diagnosis in the evaluation of thyroid and parathyroid lesions, presents the current literature and the author's experiences, and proposes a practical approach to these cases.