Hard to "remove" "ascites”
Dutiful daughter seeks medical help for mother
79-Year-old Grandma Du was diagnosed with stomach cancer in August 2021 and undertook surgery to treat stomach cancer at another hospital.
In mid-May of this year, due to abdominal distension accompanied by nausea and vomiting, Grandma Du was diagnosed with "extensive abdominal metastasis of tumor combined with massive ascites". At that time, abdominal puncture and ascites drainage were performed.
"Ascites drainage treatment would ease but not cure the symptoms, after a while, it would all come back.” Ms. Xu, Granma Dus daughter, said that due to repeated "draining" treatment, coupled with abdominal pain and abdominal distension, her mother has been unable to eat and sleep normally for a month, and only relying on infusion to maintain her body function.
The double torture of body and spirit made Grandma Du gradually lose the courage to fight against the disease.
Unwilling to see her mother suffering from such pain, Ms. Xu traveled around the province with her mothers medical records. It turned out that the technique of body cavity thermoperfusion might give her mother a chance of being cured.
So, Ms. Xu consulted around, and finally learned that Hainan Chengmei Hospital introduced body cavity thermoperfusion treatment technology.
In early June, Grandma Du was transferred to Hainan Chengmei Hospital for treatment.
Thermoperfusion therapy
It is no longer difficult to "remove" "ascites”
After admission, the team of Li Zhigang, Director of the Precision Medicine Center of Hainan Chengmei Hospital, seriously conducted a comprehensive assessment of Grandma Du s condition, confirmed that the patient had indications of body cavity thermoperfusion treatment, and developed an individualized treatment plan.
On June 2, beside the hospital bed, Doctor Wang Yiyao and other medical staff operated advanced thermoperfusion equipment to implement thermoperfusion treatment for Grandma Du.
According to Wang Yiyao, thermoperfusion therapy uses the principle that the heat resistance of tumor cells is worse than that of normal cells, and the normal saline is heated to 43 ° C and injected into the patients body cavity.
In order to enhance the effectiveness of treatment, experts have scientifically added chemotherapy drugs to normal saline, and through continuous circulation perfusion, chemotherapy drugs are used to kill or inhibit the growth of malignant tumor cells in the abdominal cavity, so as to control the occurrence of ascites.
Director Li Zhigang introduced that conventional chemotherapy treatment has a certain side effect, because Grandma Du is older with poor physical fitness, her tolerance to drugs will be more sensitive. While the thermoperfusion acts directly on tumor cells with little damage to normal tissues and there is nearly no side effects.
In the course of treatment, they also invited Zhang Zhichun, Director of the Pain Department of Hainan Cancer Hospital, to assist them in the implementation of "painless treatment" with the assistance of sedation drugs, so that patients can get a better treatment experience.
"During the one-hour thermoperfusion treatment, I did not felt uncomfortable, but felt a heat flow through my abdomen, its very warm!” Grandma Du said.
After three times of peritoneal thermoperfusion and the positioning examination, there was no fluid in Grandma Dus abdominal cavity, and "ascites" quietly disappeared.
Li Zhigang said that body cavity thermoperfusion therapy has the characteristics of safety, less trauma, fast recovery, and good control of ascites, especially in hyperthermia therapy, the addition of corresponding therapeutic drugs can improve the concentration of local therapeutic drugs, reduce side effects and treatment complications, and significantly improve the life and quality of life of patients.