Pathology

Needle aspiration biopsy is amongst the most underutilized diagnostic procedures of those available. This technique may be effectively used to rule out high‐grade malignancies when faced with nonspecific subcutaneous masses, in particular, those masses that resemble ganglion cysts. I once had three different medico‐legal cases under consultative review at one time, all of which were centered on patients who had non‐specific ganglion‐like masses. In each instance, the patient actually harbored a high‐grade sarcoma, and in each case, they were followed into their grave by their clinician with the errant diagnosis of “ganglion”. It is not overtly surprising that neoplasms masquerading [...]

Largely unchanged for decades, treatment methods for this potentially disabling condition are finally evolving Introduction Our ability to treat adverse medical conditions has long been an admixture of miraculous accomplishment and frustrating stagnation. For every disease such as osteogenic sarcoma, where recent therapeutic breakthroughs have lifted cure rates from 10-20% to over 90%, there is a condition like pulmonary adenocarcinoma, where cure rates approach their historic controls. The management of dermatologic disorders has not offered any particular exception to this rule. There recently have been profound advances in the medical management of inflammatory conditions of the skin; however, many of [...]