Cytology /FNAC in Dehradun

What is a Cytology /FNAC?

Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology samples a lump directly. A doctor passes a needle finer than the one used to draw blood into the swelling, draws cells into it, spreads them on a slide and a pathologist examines them. It is quick, done in an outpatient room, needs no stitches and usually no anaesthetic beyond perhaps a local spray, and it commonly gives an answer within a day or two. That combination of speed and low burden is why it is so often the first investigation for a palpable lump anywhere accessible: thyroid nodules, breast lumps, enlarged lymph nodes, salivary gland swellings and superficial soft-tissue masses. Its central limitation follows from its method. It collects loose cells rather than a piece of intact tissue, so a pathologist can say what the cells look like but cannot always see how they are arranged, and architecture is what distinguishes certain conditions. It can therefore be inconclusive, and an inconclusive or non-representative FNAC does not exclude anything, which is why a core biopsy or excision follows when the result does not fit the clinical picture.

Why take this test?

FNAC is advised for a lump that can be felt, and most commonly for a thyroid nodule found on examination or ultrasound, a breast lump, a persistently enlarged lymph node, or a salivary gland swelling. Its purpose is triage: to separate the many benign, inflammatory and infective lumps from the few that need surgical or oncological management, quickly and with minimal intervention. In India it also has a specific role in enlarged lymph nodes, where tuberculosis is a common cause and cytology together with additional testing on the sample can identify it. It is usually done under ultrasound guidance for deep or small lesions, which improves the chance of sampling the right area. Whatever the result, it is interpreted alongside the examination and the imaging: a benign cytology on a lump that is growing, hard, fixed or otherwise suspicious does not settle the matter, and your doctor will proceed to a fuller biopsy.

• A thyroid nodule found on examination or ultrasound
• A breast lump requiring characterisation
• A persistently enlarged lymph node
• A salivary gland or superficial soft-tissue swelling
• Suspected tuberculous lymphadenitis
• Triage before deciding on surgery or a fuller biopsy

FAQs: Cytology /FNAC in Dehradun