Cyanoacrylate adhesive: use in frozen section examination of eyelid tumor margins

Frozen sections are used to determine the extent of eyelid tumors. The contraction of skin that occurs between the time of eyelid skin excision and frozen section preparation may result in the false impression that the tumor is incompletely excised. This requires the unnecessary removal of additional normal tissue. We have demonstrated in animal and human studies that the surface application of cyanoacrylate adhesive to skin significantly reduces the degree of skin contraction. Furthermore, the cyanoacrylate coating provides added rigidity that prevents the tissue margins from rolling inward. This facilitates the production of full-thickness, vertically oriented sections that are perpendicular to the skin surface. The cyanoacrylate coating prevents folding of the sections at the time of microtome cutting. The adhesive does not interfere with the staining, interpretation of the histopathology, or subsequent reconstruction.