: To compare the results of impression cytology (IC) with frozen section in the evaluation of margin involvement in the periocular skin tumors

: A cross section involving 55 patients presented initially for the evaluation of a periocular skin tumor. Impression cytology was obtained from both the central tumor mass and the marginal territory of the tumor

: A total number of 55 patients (32 males and 23 females) was registered and 186 samples were obtained. The mean age of participants was 71±13 years. The overall sensitivity and specificity of frozen sections were 95 and 97.6 percent and of impression cytology were 71.7 and 85.7 percent respectively. For margin specimens, the frozen section’s sensitivity and specificity were 94.3 and 97.3 percent and the impression cytology’s sensitivity and specificity were 51.4 and 86.2 percent respectively with positive and negative predictive values for frozen section being 91.7 and 98.3 and for impression cytology were 52.9 and 85.5 percent respectively. The specificity for margin involvement in impression cytology was highest for lower lid lesions (93%), followed by medial canthus (85%), upper lid (78%), and face lesions (72%) in decreasing order

: Although less expensive and more feasible than frozen section, impression cytology lacks diagnostic accuracy for classification of various types of malignancies, but it may be helpfully utilized for demarcating the extent of resection of the eyelid tumors, especially in the lower lid.