Anatomic Pathology

The breast pathology service supports a wide variety of clinicians involved in the diagnosis and treatment of breast disease at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine. Headed by Subodh Lele, MD, and with the expertise of other staff pathologists, this service is the source of pathology consultative services for difficult breast lesions for a variety of pathologists in Nebraska and surrounding states. Available services include histopathology and cytology consultation for breast cases; second opinions on cases at the request of the patient’s physician or the patient; a variety of immunoperoxidase studies important to the evaluation of breast lesions; and standard tumor markers (ER, PR, Her2 neu) important in the treatment of breast cancer. 

Questions regarding breast specimens can be directed to Dr. Lele or any of the staff pathologists.

The Cytology Laboratory Service provides cytodiagnostic consultation and cervical cancer screening services in support of patient care activities at Nebraska Medicine and numerous other health care organizations throughout the state of Nebraska and neighboring states. Headed by Ana Yuil-Valdes, MD, the laboratory processes approximately 20,000 cervicovaginal specimens and 4,000 non-gynecologic specimens annually, including over 700 fine needle aspirate specimens. Most fine needle aspirate  procedures performed on the medical center campus are attended by cytology technical personnel, and smears are prepared on site. Pathologists are available for intraprocedural assessment of specimens, as well as performance of procedures on superficial, palpable masses, upon clinician request.

Questions regarding cytology testing procedures and availability can be directed to Troy Matthias at 402-552-3114.

Scott R. Lauer, MD provides consultative expertise in the diagnosis of soft tissue and bone lesions through Nebraska Medicine, regionally, and nationally. In addition to the cytopathologic and/or histopathologic evaluation of individual lesions, imaging studies are routinely reviewed with our bone and soft tissue radiology experts.

Bone and soft tissue tumors in both adults and children are also evaluated at the molecular level and a broad menu of tests are offered.

Questions can be directed to Ann Crowley in the laboratory at 402-559-5104 or Dave Varga at 402-559-9142.

Consultative support is provided to adult and pediatric cardiologists, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons by Stan Radio, MD, through case analysis and discussion at clinicopathologic correlation conferences at Nebraska Medicine and throughout the region.

Consultation is available for adult and pediatric cardiovascular disease including acquired and congenital entities. Specimen types include autopsy or hearts explanted at the time of transplantation, native or prosthetic valves, native or post transplant endomyocardial biopsies, aortic aneurysms or dissections and all other cardiovascular specimens received from the operating room.

Questions regarding the processing the fresh tissue should be directed to Dr. Radio at 402-559-4186.

The UNMC dermatopathology service is headed by Dominick J. DiMaio, MD and includes specialists: Scott Lauer, MD, Dinesh Pradhan, MD and Julie M. Youngs, MD. A wide range of services are available for the examination of dermatopathology specimens received at the UNMC, including a wide panel of immunoperoxidase stains, direct immunofluorescence staining, fluorescence in situ hybridization staining and molecular studies to determine the presence of either T cell or B cell clonal populations in the evaluation of cutaneous lymphomas.

Questions regarding dermatopathology specimens can be directed to Dr. DiMaio at 402-559-4186.

The UNMC Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology offers special expertise in the diagnosis of infectious, inflammatory and neoplastic diseases involving the esophagus, stomach and intestinal tract. The section is headed by Dr. Audrey Lazenby and includes Drs. Samuel Cohen, Kurt Fisher, Geoffery Talmon and Benjamin Swanson. Those desiring consultative diagnostic assistance should call 402-559-4186.

The department has five faculty members with extensive experience in the diagnostic evaluation of liver and biliary tract diseases. This includes non-neoplastic medical liver biopsies, as well as primary hepatic neoplasms and gall bladder and bile duct specimens. Available resources include a suitable array of histochemical and immunohistochemical stains, as well as electron microscopy for selected cases.

The gynecologic pathology service, under the heading of Subodh M. Lele, MD, provides gynecologic surgical pathology services to support the gynecologic programs at Nebraska Medicine. We also provide consultation on diagnostically challenging cases to pathologists within the region and other parts of the country and the world. The service participates in a regular weekly interdisciplinary gynecologic oncology conference to review and discuss the management of cases. The service is also actively involved in research and collaborates with gynecologic oncologists and basic science researchers at the Eppley Cancer Center and within Nebraska Medicine Gynecologic Cancer division.

Consultation requests or inquiries can be referred to Dr. Lele.

The Hematopathology Section in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology is under the direction of Shanxiang Zhang, MD, PhD. Included in the group are Jeffrey (John) Cannatella, MD, Neha Gupta, MBBS, Safina Hafeez, MD, and Saber Tadros, MD. All members of the hematopathology group are actively involved in teaching and service in the field of hematopathology. The section is active in the teaching of medical students and pathology residents and we currently have two fellows in our accredited hematopathology training program. With regard to service, the section is responsible for all diagnostic hematopathology, as well as flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, and molecular hematopathology. Our faculty conduct hematopathology research on campus, and are members of the Nebraska Lymphoma Study Group and the James O. Armitage Center for Hematological Malignancies Research.

The pulmonary and thoracic section of anatomic pathology provides diagnostic support to the clinical teams involved in the diagnosis and treatment of lung, pleural and other thoracic disorders at UNMC, as well as offering pathology consultative services for difficult lung and thoracic lesions to a variety of pathologists in the Nebraska area and surrounding states. Pathology diagnostic services in this section include evaluation of lung cancers, interstitial lung diseases, pleural disorders, including mesothelioma, as well as mediastinal lesions. In addition to the evaluation of localized lung lesions, this section provides consultative services in lung pathology through the expertise of Benjamin J. Swanson, MD. Dr. Swanson works closely with the thoracic section of the UNMC radiology department to provide important radiology-pathology correlation, which is necessary to appropriately classify the interstitial lung disorders. The pulmonary and thoracic section of the UNMC department also routinely interacts with the thoracic surgeons, pulmonologists, nurse specialists and radiologists at UNMC in the weekly multidisciplinary chest conference, where cases of lung cancer and other difficult chest disorders are discussed in detail with experts from multiple disciplines to identify the best care for the patient.

Questions regarding lung, pleural or thoracic pathology can be directed to Dr. Swanson or any of the staff pathologists.

Ophthalmic pathology is a highly subspecialized field at the University of Nebraska Medical Center that focuses on disease processes of the eye and associated adnexal structures. Our team of specialists, led by Dr. Jie Chen, carefully examines each specimen and routinely uses histologic, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence techniques in the course of our analyses. Other specialized techniques that may be used include ultrastructural, cytogenetic and molecular methods. Often a combination of these advanced techniques in this ever changing field are used to diagnose a wide range of conditions including neoplasia, degenerative diseases, infections, autoimmune illnesses, developmental disorders and vascular entities. We work closely with the department of ophthalmology in the Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute, to provide precision care to all of our patients. To request consultation please contact Regional Pathology Services.

The section of renal pathology offers comprehensive renal biopsy services for both native and allograft kidneys. Dr. Kirk W. Foster is the head of this section, which provides services in a full routine work-up include light microscopic examination, immunofluorescence, including C4d in renal allografts, and ultrastructural examination with electron microscopy. Preliminary results are discussed with the submitting clinician within one business day of receipt in the laboratory. Renal biopsy kits including all necessary fixatives are available through Regional Pathology Services and are sent to the collection facility or clinician’s office. Once packaged, the biopsy material is returned to UNMC via a provided courier.

Questions regarding the renal biopsy service can be directed to Dr. Foster.

At our state-of-the-art electron microscopy laboratory, kidney and other tissues are processed and semi-thin and thin sections are cut with an ultramicrotome. Diagnostic electron microscopy is carried out by speciality staff well trained in electron microscopy under the supervision of our neuropathologists. Images are digitally captured and stored electronically. With questions, call Kirk Foster, MD, medical director, or Karen Sayre at 402-559-7729.

The neuropathology laboratory provides diagnostic neuropathology services for brain tumors, neuromuscular diseases via muscle and nerve biopsies, neurodegenerative diseases, including common forms of dementia, including Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease and less common forms such as frontal temporal dementia and progressive supranuclear palsy, as well as other surgical and autopsy neuropathology specimens. Diagnostic procedures may include histochemistry, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, cytogenetics including FISH studies or next generation sequencing.

The service head and staff are available for consultation. Medical or technical questions can be directed to Jie Chen, MD at 402-559-4186.

In providing support to the highly successful solid organ transplant programs at UNMC, our department has acquired significant expertise in evaluating the post-transplant biopsies from these patients. Our experience includes liver, small intestine, heart and pancreas allograft biopsies. The transplant pathology group is headed by Dr. Stanley Radio and includes Drs. Geoffrey Talmon and Benjamin Swanson. For questions or consultation, please contact Dr. Radio or his associates.

Renal allograft biopsies are examined by our renal pathology group.

The liver pathology group is led by Dr. Stan Radio and assisted by Drs. Geoffrey Talmon, and Benjamin Swanson.

The Urologic Pathology Service headed by Dr. Subodh M. Lele, provides urologic surgical pathology services to support UNMC's Urologic Surgery Division and Nebraska Medicine's Oncology programs, as well as throughout the region. We also provide consultation on diagnostically challenging cases to pathologists within the region and other parts of the country and the world. A regular monthly Urologic Pathology Case Conference is held within the department in collaboration with urologic surgery to review and discuss interesting cases. The division is also actively involved in research and collaborates with urologists and basic science researchers at the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer.

Consultation requests and/or questions can be referred to Dr. Lele.