BHUBANESWAR : Apollo Cancer Centre here performed hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) on a 52-year-old woman recently.
The patient, who had undergone surgery with HIPEC at New Delhi in July 2018 after being diagnosed with appendiceal mucinous neoplasm with Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), consulted Apollo with complaints of abdominal distension for about a month.
PMP is a rare disease characterised by the presence of mucin (large heavily glycosylated proteins) in the abdominal cavity. After examining the patient and essential tests, it was found that the patient had again developed a recurrence of the tumour. Consultant gastrointestinal oncosurgery Dr Salil Kumar Parida and his team performed the complicated surgery.
The advantage of HIPEC is better penetration of the drug into the tumour tissue. It targets microscopic tumour deposits in peritoneal cavity. The patient was discharged within one week of the surgery and she is doing well, said Dr Parida.
HIPEC was initiated after removal of the cancer cells from the abdominal cavity. When done at specialised centres by specialist oncosurgeons, the morbidity of the procedure can be very minimal, added Dr Parida.