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HealthEast Medical Laboratory (HML) provides a full range of cytology services including:
Cervical cancer is almost 100% curable if detected early. HML offers both conventional pap testing, as well as the
SurePath™ Pap Test, the latest in pap smear technology with FDA approval as a superior test in the detection of
cellular abnormalities.
The SurePath™ Pap Test provides numerous benefits to both physicians and patients. Cells are collected in the traditional manner, but instead of being smeared onto a slide or rinsed into a preservative fluid, the heads of the collection devices themselves are snapped off into the SurePath™ preservative fluid, capturing 100% of the collected cervical cells. The SurePath™ preservative fluid provides immediate wet fixation, which eliminates mechanical distortions (clumping) and air drying artifact.
At our laboratory, the vial is processed using the BD SurePath™ Cell Enrichment process, removing obscuring materials such as blood, inflammatory cells and mucus, to produce a slide with a uniform thin-layer of diagnostic cells clearly presented for the cytologist and pathologist.
The BD SurePath™ patented Cell Enrichment process demonstrates a statistically significant improvement in specimen quality resulting in fewer unsatisfactory results. Additional tests may be performed using the same SurePath™ sample, such as testing for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) without requiring another office visit. The physician has the option at the time of collection to request Reflex HPV testing if the pap smear is diagnosed either as Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance (ASCUS), if abnormal, or regardless of the result.
As a full service reference laboratory, HML provides a number of non-gynecological tests, including the screening of body fluids, washes and brushes, as well as offering hospital-based fine needle aspiration biopsies. A fine needle aspiration is a very safe, fast and relatively non-invasive diagnostic procedure. It is performed on superficial, palpable masses, usually greater than 0.5 cm by a board-certified pathologist with expertise in cytopathology. These pathologists are able to immediately check for cellular adequacy, helping to reduce the possibility of requiring another patient visit due to an inadequate sample.
Common sites tested include masses found in the:
Test results are usually available to the physician the next day after 4 pm.
Call HML at 651-232-3500, to have one of our sales representatives put together a complete program of laboratory services designated specifically to meet your needs.
