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Who Examins Biopsy Slides?

megsybeth

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megsybeth Enthusiast
megsybeth
Posted

So at the end of November I finally get to take my 4yo down to UCSD to see a pediatric celiac specialist. His local GI doesn't really get the disease and I had her do an endoscopy and biopsies reluctantly because I knew she was convinced he had no celiac. But I would have had to keep my son on gluten, having constant diarrhea, exhausted for three months to just see the celiac specialist, much less get in for the endo, so I decided to have local GI do it and to have someone else review the slides. I wasn't terribly surprised to have her tell me the biopsy showed no signs of celiac, except a "few scattered intraepithelial T-lymphocytes".

The hospital called that I can pick the slides up. Do you think the doctor will review them at the appointment or does another pathologist at her hospital do it? If so, should I bring them down the week before? Just want the doctor to have the most information possible to address my son's needs. Basically, he has classic celiac symptoms (diarrhea, short stature, low appetite, fatigue, motor problems, anemia, weakened and stained teeth) and I have celiac and he had a strong positive DGP IGA test, same gene as I have. I think he has it and he's gluten free but I also want his doctor to have the most information possible.

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mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

The slides should be reviewed by the hospital pathologist who is used to interpreting these things. The doctor will probably be interested in them but you need a specialist interpretation. Your GI was reading from the pathology report when she started talking about "scattered intraepithelial T-lymphocytes" I would call the San Diego doctor you are going to see and ask for her recommendation on how to handle the slides. Perhaps the one hospital can forward to the other and you needn't get involved.

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