Role of imprint cytology in the intraoperative diagnosis of pituitary adenomas.

The cytologic touch imprint alone can be diagnostic of pituitary adenomas and meningiomas, etc. A 45-year-old man was operated upon for intracranial meningioma. Imprint cytology revealed distinct cytologic features which helped arriving at the specific diagnosis of pituitary adenoma intraoperatively. Subsequent histopathology and immuno-histochemistry confirmed the diagnosis. Thus intraoperative touch preparations are of immense help in arriving at a diagnosis as well as in excluding other possible differential diagnoses and therefore can replace frozen section for intraoperative consultations of sellar and parasellar tumors.