Chemo Failed! But Docs In Singapore Saved Life Of An Indian National
Doctors from Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital in Singapore have given a fresh lease of life a 48-year-old Indian national who was diagnosed with late stage appendix cancer.
In his case, chemotherapy could not work because the disease had spread extensively into the peritoneum. For doctors, Cytoreductive Surgery (CRS)and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) was the only solution for him.
Dr. Melissa Teo
Dr Melissa Teo, Surgical Oncologist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Singapore said, “The patient was diagnosed with late stage of appendix cancer. Therefore, we decided to operate him through CRS and HIPEC which has best medical outcome.”
“The surgery was planned in two parts. In the first part, cytoreductive surgery was done to remove at much cancerous tissue from the abdomen as possible. Next step was to perform the HIPEC procedure, a heated sterile solution containing a chemotherapeutic agent is circulated throughout the abdominal cavity. This process can avoid the usual side effects of chemotherapy,” said Dr Teo adding that the patient recovered well, and was discharged in 10 days.
Experts say that normally the entire procedure, including surgery and HIPEC, may take between 6-18 hours to complete because surgery times vary. The more extensive the disease, the longer the surgery can take. In this case, Dr Teo operated for a total of 14 hours to save this man’s life.
A Ray of Hope For Rare Pancreatic Cancer Patients:
In the meanwhile, doctors from Mount Elizabeth Hospital Singapore, says that in the last two decades, clinicians have witnessed rapid evolution in the management of Neuroendocrine Tumors (NETS) in the gastrointestinal tract.
According to them, Gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), is a rare cancer originating from the digestive diffuse of endocrine system.
Dr. Liau Kui Hin
Dr Liau Kui Hin, Senior Surgeon at Mt Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore said, “Multimodal management of the disease provided by a multi and transdisciplinary team remains the key element for ensuring the clinical success of the outcome.
“At Mt Elizabeth Singapore, we practice modern surgery combined with the application of surgical technology. Operations are done with greater precision and speed, less pain and complications, faster recovery and patient can be discharged soon,” Dr Hin further informed.
