Shillong, Aug 26: The North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) has successfully performed the first Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) procedure in Meghalaya. The procedure was performed on a 50-year-old woman with advanced cancer of the ovary.

HIPEC is a cancer treatment that involves filling the abdominal cavity with chemotherapy drugs that have been heated. Also known as “hot chemotherapy”, HIPEC is performed after the surgeon removes tumours inside the abdomen. This procedure needs a special machine which heats the chemotherapy and keeps it circulated in the abdomen for over an hour. HIPEC is a complex procedure, but it can be very effective in treating advanced cancer of the ovary. The procedure has been shown to improve survival rates and quality of life for patients.

The procedure was performed by a team led by Dr. Caleb Harris, Additional Professor, Dept of Surgical Oncology, NEIGRIHMS. The team also included Dr. Pallabika Mandal, Assistant Professor, Dept of Surgical Oncology, Dr. Yepeto Lohe and Dr. Pynroibor Mawblei, Senior Resident Doctors, Dept of Surgical Oncology, and Dr. Neha Rawat, Assistant Professor, Dept of Anaesthesiology. The patient is now recovering well and has been discharged from the hospital.

“This is a major milestone for NEIGRIHMS and for the people of Meghalaya,” said Dr. Nalin Mehta, Director of NEIGRIHMS, adding, “HIPEC is a highly specialized procedure that is not available in many parts of the country. We are now able to offer this advanced treatment to our patients, and we are confident that it will help to improve their outcomes.”

Dr. C. Daniala, Medical Superintendent of NEIGRIHMS, said that the institute is in the process of procuring a HIPEC machine. “This will allow us to offer this procedure to more patients,” she said. “We are committed to providing state-of-the-art cancer care to the people of Meghalaya, and HIPEC is a major step in that direction,” she stressed.

“We are very happy that we were able to offer this procedure to our patient,” said Dr. Caleb Harris, who led the surgical team. “We are confident that patients will benefit from this treatment,” he added.

Also read: Towards TB Elimination 2025: East Khasi Hills sensitizes traditional healers of Sohra on TB

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