Microscopic examination of surgical margins of intraocular tumors excised en bloc.

Microscopic examination of the surgical margins of an en bloc resection of an intraocular tumor is difficult because of the small size of the specimen. A technique to study the surgical margins of en bloc resections is described that minimizes gross handling of the tissue in the laboratory. Step sections at 1/8-mm intervals along the anteroposterior axis of the eye provide sufficient sampling to detect involvement of the surgical margin. They also allow easy anatomic reconstruction of the tumor with glass slides.