[Role of cytology and frozen sections in the intraoperative examination of the thyroid: comparison of two experiences].

Two experiences of peroperative diagnosis in thyroid surgery are reported. In Bordeaux (France), frozen sections are supplemented by touch smears. Imprints alone give results similar to frozen but are not suitable in differentiating follicular adenoma from carcinoma; they appear more accurate for recognising the follicular presentation of papillary carcinoma. Touch smear is a rapid cost-effective alternative to frozen section. In Brussels (Belgium), a more conventional attitude results in 185 frozen. A false negative ends in a follicular carcinoma. Eleven follicular proliferations will be signed out adenoma (8 cases) or carcinoma (3 cases) and three papillary carcinomas will only be detected after embedding. Six false negative derive from frozen section, no false positive is noted. An immediate change in the surgical procedure is justified twice. These observations argue for the free choice by the pathologist of the best technical procedure in peroperative diagnosis.