HIPEC procedure still catching on to treat peritoneal mesothelioma and other cancers
The innovative HIPEC method of delivering heated chemotherapy into the abdominal cavity following surgery and has been in use for 30 years, but only recently began getting attention as more surgeons adopt the procedure.
Sricharan Chalikonda came to the Cleveland Clinic from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania and partnered with gynecological oncologist Dr. Pedro Escobar to start the program in May 2009. Since then, the pair has performed the HIPEC procedure about 50 times.
The HIPEC procedure involves leaving catheters in place the abdominal cavity after closing a surgery to remove cancerous tumors. The catheters are then connected to a machine that sends heated chemotherapy through the abdominal cavity for about 90 minutes before pumping it out. The heat helps the chemotherapy to enter the cells and kill the cancer. This treatment has proven to be effective on advanced cases of abdominal cancer including appendix, ovarian, colorectal, and peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the abdominal cavity caused by asbestos exposure.
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