Histopathology
Histopathology is the diagnosis and study of diseases of the tissues and involves examining tissues and/or cells under a microscope. The purpose of Histopathology is to provide a tissue diagnosis and help decide a patient’s treatment and prognosis. SYNLAB Nigeria’s department of histopathology is located at the reference laboratory in Ilupeju, Lagos.
Supported by the SYNLAB Group, SYNLAB Nigeria offers medical professionals digital pathology services, leveraging more than 100 anatomic pathologists within the SYNLAB group who provide speciality services in every aspect of anatomic pathology.
Availability of results
All results become available on PathProvider once results are verified.
You may obtain preliminary results following a discussion with the reporting consultant
Please note that hard copies are no longer automatically sent unless specifically requested.
If results are requested over the phone, the caller’s identity must be confirmed before any results are provided.
Turn Around and test processing
Turn Around and test processing
Our objective is to have quick turnaround times when reporting results while also retaining the quality of the analysis. Report TAT objectives are based on the time the specimen is received at the laboratory.
Turn around times:
Standard biopsies: Within 5 working days
Standard large resections: Within 7 working days
Rapid processing
Rapid processing (making results available within 72 hours) can be arranged following prior approval from a Consultant Histopathologist. Rapid processing is not available on large specimens as the quality and integrity of the specimen need to be preserved.
Availability
Histopathology contact details
24 Hour Customer Care and Support
Histopathology Support Centre
+234 703 178 7227 (laboratory hours)
Consultant Histopathologist
Dr Adesoji Adetona
Email: [email protected]
Specimen collection, storage and transport
If you are in any doubt as to how specimens should be sent to the histopathology department for analysis, it is essential that you discuss your requirements with the laboratory histo-scientists or a Consultant Histopathologist.
The majority of specimens should normally be transferred to SYNLAB in 10% neutral buffered formalin. Formalin containers are available from SYNLAB.
Please take note that some specimens have specific requirements: skins for immunofluorescence can be fresh, wrapped in SALINE soaked gauze or in Michels solution.
It is important that specimens are placed in an adequate volume of fixative as soon as possible after removal. It is also important that appropriately sized containers are used to allow sufficient fixation of the specimen. PLEASE DO NOT squeeze specimens into any container.
Large specimens from surgical operations should be fixed in formalin immediately and transferred to SYNLAB in large plastic containers to avoid leakage. Should a specimen be too large for a container, please contact the laboratory for advice; under no circumstances should specimens be placed into an inappropriate container if they are for histopathological examination.
Guidelines
SYNLAB can provide various specimen containers.
Please fix labels for both the request form and the specimen container.
Ensure specimen containers are sealed to avoid the request form being smudged.
All request forms should be in the specimen bag attached to the specimen container.
Specimen acceptance criteria
- First name and surname
- Date of birth
- Hospital number
Ideally, the container should be labelled with a pre-printed address label. SYNLAB will accept hand-labelled containers providing they include all the necessary information. The container should also be labelled with the specimen type and the date the sample was taken.
A histopathology request form must be completed and submitted with the specimen.
Mandatory infomation
First name and surname
Date of birth
Hospital number
Age
Gender
Site of specimen collection
Nature of specimen
Summarised clinical details
Clinical diagnosis
Additional infomation
Requesting consultant
Source of request, e.g. GP surgery or hospital ward
Date of specimen collection
Time of specimen collection
As the specimen request form will be handled by staff outside the laboratory, it is important to ensure that all forms are free of contamination by blood or body fluids. The spelling of names must be correct, with matching details presented on both the container and specimen request form.
Specimens that do not meet these criteria cannot be processed by the laboratory until the correct details have been provided by the requesting clinician/ clinic. It is the responsibility of the requesting clinician to provide any relevant clinical details which may assist the pathologist in arriving at a diagnosis; such information may include recent history and examination findings such as recent radiological or laboratory test results.
IMPORTANT! Any samples received without a fully completed request form and correctly labelled specimen container will be kept unprocessed until details are received from the originator; this will cause delays in specimen processing.
Special stains and immunohistochemistry
SYNLAB Nigeria may send slides that require immunohistochemistry stains to our histopathology reference laboratories in Europe based on the recommendation of the specialist in the area of interest. This will result in an increase of normally one week for stained slides to be reported. Results of such stains will be issued as supplementary reports.
Time limits for requesting additional tests
Please note that all requests for additional investigations must be made after discussion with the reporting Consultant Histopathologist or at a multidisciplinary meeting. There may be specific time limits to perform tests based on the availability and storage of specimens. Please enquire with the laboratory about storage periods.
Molecular send-away tests
SYNLAB Nigeria sends a vast array of molecular tests to various centres of excellence within the SYNLAB Group. Please speak to the Consultant Histopathologist about specific tests that you require.
| ALK IHC (lung) | RAF – Colorectal | BRAF – Skin | EGFR/ T790M |
| GIST KIT/ PDGFRa | HER2 ISH | KRAS/ NRAS | MMR IHC |
| MULTIGENE PANELS | PDL-1 | T-CELL (TCR)/ B-cell (IgH) |
Liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive technique, based on the analysis of biomarkers in the blood or in biological fluids (pleural, ascetic, etc.) of the patient. It is very useful in those patients in whom it is not possible to perform a biopsy of the tumour at diagnosis or in those who do not have enough tumour tissue to perform the genetic analysis. SYNLAB Nigeria does liquid biopsies for KRAS, BRAF, EGRR, PIKC35 and Guardant 360, amongst others.
Second opinion
Synlab Nigeria offers second opinion reviews by any of the more than 100 specialists across different fields of pathology within the SYNLAB Group. Instant second opinion reviews on more complex cases minimise report delays except where additional ancillary tests are required.
If you are sending both histology and cytology samples on the same patient, we require separate request forms for both samples