Chemosaturation treatment
Before
In the weeks leading up to your procedure, your doctor will arrange different tests to ensure that you are healthy enough to undergo it. You will have scans of your liver and other parts of your body, as well as blood tests.
The day before your procedure, you will go into hospital and get settled in for the night. Your nurse may give you medicines to help you get ready for the procedure. If you take any other medicines, please bring them with you.
During
On the day of your procedure, you will be taken to the procedure room. Your anesthesiologist will give you general anaesthesia, and you will not feel anything during the treatment.
Once you are asleep, four catheters will be placed (small plastic tubes) in your body; one in each of your groins and two in your neck.
- One groin catheter will be used to put two small balloons around your liver to “seal off” the blood in your liver from the rest of your body.
- The other groin catheter will be used to give the anti-cancer drug during your procedure.
- The third and fourth catheters, placed in the neck, will be used to return the filtered blood back into the body and give you medication during the treatment.
After
After your procedure, the balloons around your liver and the catheters in your groin will be removed whilst you are recovering in the critical care unit. The team may leave one of the catheters in your neck afterwards in case you need to be given more drugs.
You may feel tired and have an upset stomach, but this should not last very long and you will be closely monitored. Every patient is different, but typically the procedure requires an in-patient stay of 2-4 nights.
Following Discharge from Hospital
Even after the procedure, your doctors will need to watch carefully for any known or unknown side effects.
After your procedure, you will have:
- Blood tests whilst in hospital and for up to 2 weeks after.
- New drugs if you need them to help with your recovery.
- Scans after 6-8 weeks to monitor how your tumour has responded to Chemosaturation therapy.
The exact post procedure follow-up will be dependent on individual and clinical needs.
After your procedure, you will be in contact with your doctor and your chemosat team often. You and your doctor can talk about when you may feel able to return to your normal activities, including work. Don't be afraid to let your doctor or nurse know if something does not feel right.
Funding
Although the procedure is not currently available through the NHS, we are working hard in conjunction with patient groups, clinical experts and the manufacturer to make it more widely available. Some private medical insurance companies are also already committed to funding Chemosaturation therapy (either in part or fully) otherwise self-pay packages are available. These are currently the most common form of funding for this procedure.