Intraoperative fine-needle aspiration and rapid diagnosis of thoracic lesions.

Rapid cytologic diagnosis of thoracic lesions by intraoperative fine-needle aspiration is a valuable aid to the surgeon at the time of thoracotomy or mediastinoscopy, especially for lesions which are difficult or hazardous to biopsy by standard methods. The technique is simple, quick, and accurate and aids in determining the immediate surgical management of suspicious lesions. One hundred fifty-four IOFNAs of thoracic masses performed over an 8-year period were evaluated. Diagnostic accuracy was 97.7% for the diagnosis of benign lesions, 95.4% for the diagnosis of malignancy, and 100% for the differentiation of small cell carcinoma from non-small cell carcinoma of the lung.