INTRAOPERATIVE CYTOLOGY OF LIPOBLASTOMA - A CASE-REPORT

Soft tissue tumors in infants and children often cause considerable co ncern to the surgeon and pathologist, especially when a rare tumor, su ch as lipoblastoma, is in question. Frozen section may not yield a def initive diagnosis, and the histologic picture could be deceptive, temp ting one to make a false diagnosis of malignancy. Except for a single case report, no detailed cytologic study of this rare benign neoplasm appears to have been reported previously. The varied cytologic finding s, as observed on imprint smears of a tumor removed from a 12-month-ol d boy, are presented. The differential diagnosis of childhood myxoid n eoplasms is discussed briefly.