Paras Hospital in Gurugram became first in the city to perform Pressurised Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) on a patient who had run out of options after her ovarian cancer recurred for the third time.

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A 35-year-old, whose body had stopped responding to traditional treatment after undergoing cycles of strenuous chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, became the first to undergo the procedure in the millennium city under the expert team of surgical oncologists led by Dr Vinay Samuel Gaikwad, Associate Director, Surgical Oncology, Paras Cancer Centre. Dr Vinay said that PIPAC is a palliative option of treatment for patients suffering from ovarian, gastric, colorectal, appendicular and certain other cancers which have spread within the abdomen.

"The PIPAC process is a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. This is a laparoscopic procedure in which a keyhole (incision) is made. Using a special device, standard liquid chemotherapy that has been converted into gaseous/aerosol form is sprayed directly onto the cancerous area. After the procedure, the residual fumes are absorbed through a special filter and the incision is closed. In fact, after the procedure, the patient can be discharged on the same day or the next," Dr. Vinay said. What makes this procedure unique is that it can be used when other treatment fails. Also, the patient's general condition does not have to be very good in order to tolerate the procedure.

"Side-effects that are commonly seen in other procedures such as hair loss, kidney problems, liver problems, vomiting etc, are either minimal or not seen at all. Any patient with peritoneal cancer, who can withstand a two-hour surgery under anesthesia, is compatible with this therapy. Therefore, most patients can tolerate this procedure very well," he said.