Multi-disciplinary approach
A multi-disciplinary team including an Interventional Radiologist, Consultant Anaesthetist and Perfusionist will deliver your treatment.
Isolation
Two small balloons are placed around your liver, which will “seal off” the blood in your liver from the rest of your body.
Saturation
Next, you will be given you a powerful anti-cancer drug. The drug will go directly to your liver. The balloons will keep the drug from spreading to other parts of your body.
Filtration
As the anti-cancer drug is being delivered to your liver, the chemosaturation filter will remove most of the drug from your blood as it leaves the liver.
This is an important step because it can help reduce side effects after your procedure to a level that you can manage better.
The whole procedure usually takes about three to four hours which includes preparation, the procedure itself and post procedural care.
Chemosaturation Therapy
Chemosaturation therapy is a method of treating cancers in the liver. Its concept is to temporarily isolate the liver from the body’s blood circulation and deliver a concentrated dose of an anti-cancer drug directly to the liver, ‘saturating’ the entire organ.
...under General Anesthesia
As part of the multidisciplinary team, your Anaesthetist will conduct a preoperative assessment in order to plan your care before you undergo the procedure. This may involve running further tests and making sure you are at your physical best for the treatment. There will also be opportunity to ask any questions you might have. Providing the right type of anaesthetic care includes supporting your physiology during the procedure and administering any medicines that will help minimise anxiety, discomfort or nausea after the operation. Afterwards, they will be involved in your recovery in the critical care unit where you will undergo some further blood tests and have some of the tubes removed from your blood vessels.
...with support from Perfusionist
Your Perfusionist is responsible for the set-up and running of the circuit that filters blood from the liver, in order to remove the anti-cancer drug. This blood will then be directed back into the body. There is a bubble trap within the filter to prevent air entering the bloodstream. The pressure and flow of blood will be closely monitored.