Abstract :
Background: A wide range of inflammatory as well as neoplastic lesions can present as nodular, soft,
mobile subcutaneous swellings all over the body. FNAC(fine needle aspiration cytology) is considered to
be the first reliable technique for diagnosing them.
Aim: To study the cytomorphological patterns of subcutaneous nodular lesions and correlate with
histopathology.
Materials and Methods: A three year prosective study of all palpable subcutaneous swellings presenting
to cytology section with histopathological correlation.
Statistical Analysis: The data are expressed in descriptive statistics measures such as percentages and
proportions. A continuous data was presented as mean and standard deviation (SD).
Results: Out of 1427 total cases, most common were benign lesions (97.4%) including lipomas (35.24%)
followed by benign spindle cell lesions (17.02%). Malignant cases comprised only 2.7%. Many rare lesions
like gouty tophi, calcinosis cutis, filariasis, myositis ossificans were also encountered. Biopsy correlation
could be done in 12% of cases.
Conclusion: Small subcutaneous swellings though appear benign in most of the cases, can be due to an
interesting and grave aetiology which must be kept in mind of clinicians as well as cytopathologists.
Keyword :
Biopsy, Cytodiagnosis, Subcutaneous nodule.