diff --git a/src/components/ContentPanel.tsx b/src/components/ContentPanel.tsx
index 5107e9cc..eb94eb01 100644
--- a/src/components/ContentPanel.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ContentPanel.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import React, { useMemo, useRef } from 'react'
+import React, { useMemo } from 'react'
 import ReactMarkdown from 'react-markdown'
 import remarkGfm from 'remark-gfm'
 import { FontAwesomeIcon } from '@fortawesome/react-fontawesome'
@@ -52,9 +52,7 @@ const ContentPanel: React.FC<ContentPanelProps> = ({
   onTextSelection,
   onClearSelection
 }) => {
-  const markdownPreviewRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
-  
-  const renderedMarkdownHtml = useMarkdownToHTML(markdown)
+  const { renderedHtml: renderedMarkdownHtml, previewRef: markdownPreviewRef } = useMarkdownToHTML(markdown)
   
   const { finalHtml, relevantHighlights } = useHighlightedContent({
     html,
diff --git a/src/hooks/useMarkdownToHTML.ts b/src/hooks/useMarkdownToHTML.ts
index b0f30e70..39afa8f0 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useMarkdownToHTML.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useMarkdownToHTML.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
-import { useState, useEffect, useRef } from 'react'
+import React, { useState, useEffect, useRef } from 'react'
 
 /**
  * Hook to convert markdown to HTML using a hidden ReactMarkdown component
  */
-export const useMarkdownToHTML = (markdown?: string): string => {
-  const markdownPreviewRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
+export const useMarkdownToHTML = (markdown?: string): { renderedHtml: string, previewRef: React.RefObject<HTMLDivElement> } => {
+  const previewRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
   const [renderedHtml, setRenderedHtml] = useState<string>('')
 
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ export const useMarkdownToHTML = (markdown?: string): string => {
     console.log('📝 Converting markdown to HTML...')
     
     const rafId = requestAnimationFrame(() => {
-      if (markdownPreviewRef.current) {
-        const html = markdownPreviewRef.current.innerHTML
+      if (previewRef.current) {
+        const html = previewRef.current.innerHTML
         console.log('✅ Markdown converted to HTML:', html.length, 'chars')
         setRenderedHtml(html)
       } else {
@@ -28,10 +28,8 @@ export const useMarkdownToHTML = (markdown?: string): string => {
     return () => cancelAnimationFrame(rafId)
   }, [markdown])
 
-  return renderedHtml
+  return { renderedHtml, previewRef }
 }
 
-export const useMarkdownPreviewRef = () => {
-  return useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
-}
+// Removed separate useMarkdownPreviewRef; use useMarkdownToHTML to obtain previewRef