A 36-year-old woman suffering from liver cancer was given a new lease of life when doctors at Jipmer performed a series of complex procedures to remove a large cancerous tumour from her liver.
The patient hailing from Madurai reported at Jipmer in August 2015 with advanced cancer in her liver. The 11-cm tumour was occupying more than 70 per cent of the liver.
As surgery was ruled out because of the advanced tumour and as the unaffected part of liver was not enough to sustain life, doctors opted for a Trans-Arterial-Chemo-Embolisation (TACE) procedure whereby a small tube is inserted through leg through the blood supplying vessel to the tumour and anticancer drugs (chemotherapy) injected by angiography techniques.
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TACE was performed once more in November 2015 for more control and further growth of the tumour was arrested.
As the normal area of the liver not affected by cancer was insufficient to perform surgery for removal of tumour, in February 2016, doctors adopted a technique called Portal Vein Embolisation . By this technique, artificial growth was induced to the left half of the liver. In two months, the left half of liver grew from 30 to 45 per cent even as the right half reduced from 70 to 55 per cent.
However, the tumour was still affecting two out of three major blood channels going out of liver just below heart. At this stage doctors decided to perform an “extended right liver resection”. Liver models were created in computer with advanced simulation techniques in MYRIAN software work stations.
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