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Background We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative fine‐needle aspiration biopsies (FNAB) by the postthyroidectomy pathology results. Method Seven hundred and ninety‐five patients with FNAB and following thyroid operations which have been performed between April 2008 and December 2019 were included in this study. By comparing the results of the FNAB and final pathologies, the specificity, sensitivity, FNR, false positivity ratio (FPR), accuracy and also the effect of nodule diameter on these have been evaluated. In Bethesda III subgroup according to FNAB, we investigated the malignancy rates and in whom this risk has been increased more. Results In our study, the sensitivity of FNAB is 73.40%, the specificity is 95.33%, the accuracy is 91.81%, FNR is 26.60% and FPR is 4.67%. In the patients with nodules ≥4 cm and < 4 cm respectively, we calculated the sensitivity 20.0% vs 79.76%, specificity 95.73% vs 95.19%, accuracy 89.82% vs 92.78%, FNR 80.0% vs 20.24%, FPR 4.27% vs 4.8%. Conclusion Thyroid FNAB is an easy procedure with a high specificity and sensitivity. Nevertheless, when the nodule diameter was ≥4 cm, increased FNR and decreased sensitivity should be kept in mind while evaluating the patients.

Lafora disease is a severe form of progressive myoclonic epilepsy with autosomal recessive inheritance diagnosed by inclusion body in biopsy. A 26-year-old woman was admitted due to complaints of frequent twitches and fainting. The 0.5x0.3x0.3 cm axillary skin punch biopsy was subjected to routine histopathological evaluation. Cytoplasmic PAS-positive inclusion bodies were observed at the basal side of the eccrine and apocrine glands. The diagnosis of Lafora disease can also be made by the observation of the polyglycosan cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in the brain, liver and skeletal muscle biopsies. Although we need more work to understand the etiopathogenesis of Lafora disease, we would like to draw attention to the importance of skin biopsy in the differential diagnosis of young patients with clinically refractory epilepsy, myoclonus, and cognitive decline.