Evolution of pathology techniques for evaluating energy-based tissue effects

Over the last decade, histopathology techniques for evaluating tissue effects associated with minimally invasive energy-based medical devices have substantially progressed. These techniques have evolved from hematoxylin and eosin and collagen staining on fixed tissues to membrane and enzymatic viability staining in fresh tissue. Further, immunohistochemistry has advanced the detection of apoptosis over the TUNEL and FLICA assays in intact tissue samples. As a result, these techniques have enhanced our ability to evaluate tissues following both hyperthermic and cryothermic tissue treatments.