Doctors at Continental Hospitals perform South India’s first-ever surgical procedure to treat “mesothelioma” a rare cancer

• Patient is lone breadwinner in the family and has three young children to look after

Hyderabad, April 8th, 2021: Doctors at the Continental Hospitals performed South India’s one of the few surgical procedure to cure Mesothelioma, a form of cancer which affects the lining of the chest and lungs. Impacting the surface of lungs, this form of cancer which incapacitates the patient gradually, is usually caused due to prolonged exposure to asbestos and smoking. Mesothelioma is cancer that starts in cells in the linings of certain parts of the body, most commonly the linings of the chest or abdomen (belly).

In the case, the 40-year-old Mr Anil (Name Changed) reported of constant breathlessness, which on diagnosing was found to be this rare form of cancer.

Commenting on the treatment, Dr. Ravi Chander Veligeti, Consultant Surgical Oncologist, Continental Hospitals said, “The patient is the lone-breadwinner in the family and has three young children to look after. Earlier, such patients of such cancers were deemed incurable and put through chemotherapy, which is considered an expensive treatment. Considering this background, we decided to go in for a complex surgical procedure to remove the cancerous lining from the lung along with a novel procedure called Hyper thermic Intrathoracic Chemotherapy (HITHOC). The surgery lasted for 10 hours, and the patient recovered from it fully in 2weeks.”

Often by the time mesothelioma is diagnosed, the disease is advanced. The 5-year survival rate is around 5% to 10%. Most patients with mesothelioma of the lung die because of respiratory failure or pneumonia. A smaller number of people die of complications of the heart when the tumor invades the pericardium, a thin sac that surrounds the heart.

Common perception is that nothing can be done if one is diagnosed with mesothelioma and putting the patient on chemotherapy is the lone possible solution. This is because of the complexity of the surgery to treat such a cancer. But now, the team of surgeons at the Continental Hospitals has the expertise to treat complex cancers permanently through effective surgical procedures.