ROLE OF FNAC PROCEDURE IN A STUDY OF HEAD AND NECK LESIONS AT A TERTIARY CARE CENTER DHARPUR-PATANSETAL CHAUHAN, KENA PATEL, BIMAL CHAUHAN, VARSHA KHANT AND ASHA GUNJALIAAbstract FNAC (Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology) is a well accepted technique for head and neck lesions. It is a safe and inexpensive outdoor procedure. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a simple, quick and cost effective method and plays an important role in early diagnosis of superficial masses found in the head and neck region. It is to assess the frequency and incidence of different sites, age, sex and according to the lesions being inflammatory, benign and malignant. A retrospective study among 110 patients was conducted at GMERS Medical College and Hospital, Dharpur-Patan Gujarat from January 2021 to March 2023. Patients between the ages of 5 years to 75 years were taken into the study. Fine needle aspiration cytomorhological diagnosis was correlated with detailed clinical findings and investigations. Out of 110 fine needle aspiration procedures 67.28 % (74 cases) were of lymph node, 14.54% (16 cases) were of thyroid, 7.27% from salivary gland (08 cases) and 10.91% (12 cases) from miscellaneous swellings. Out of total 110 lesions, 60(54.54%) were inflammatory, 35 (31.82%) benign and 15 (13.65%) were malignant. From the present study we concluded that FNAC is excellent, fast, inexpensive and minimally invasive first line investigation for differential diagnosis of head and neck masses. Also combination of fine needle aspiration cytology with acid fast staining is very much helpful for routine diagnosis of tuberculosis. |