New procedure brings chemo to melanoma

Source: Medical Xpress, March 2018

The choice between saving one’s limb or one’s life may seem obvious. However, surgical oncologist Cristina O’Donoghue, MD, MPH, knows the decision is emotionally wrenching for patients with advanced melanoma or sarcoma in a limb that likely would be fatal if allowed to metastasize.
O’Donoghue is one of fewer than 30 surgeons in the country who perform a minimally invasive procedure called isolated limb infusion (ILI), which delivers high doses of chemotherapy to an affected arm or leg but not the rest of the body.
“Amputation has been the only option for many with advanced melanoma or sarcoma," O’Donoghue says. “But being able to temporarily isolate the flow of blood to and from the limb means very powerful chemotherapy is now an option."

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