The Agar sandwich technique for retinal biopsy processing.

BACKGROUND

The authors developed an agar sandwich technique for retinal biopsy processing. This tissue agar embedding technique allows for a rapid and reliable method to handle and transport retinal biopsies from the operative field to the histology laboratory.

METHODS

Biopsies from rabbit retinas infected with herpes simplex virus, epiretinal membranes from patients with macular pucker, and retinas from patients with acute retinal necrosis were studied. Each retinal biopsy was fixed, mounted on an agar disc, and covered with liquid agar. Light microscopy, electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry, and polymerase chain reaction were employed on the agar-embedded tissue.

RESULTS

The tissues remained mounted in the agar sandwich and maintained their orientation throughout the processing. The morphologic integrity, histologic characteristics, antigenic properties, and DNA quality all were preserved using the agar sandwich technique.

CONCLUSIONS

The agar sandwich technique is an efficient and simple technique for handling small biopsy specimens that require various analyses.