David C. Koch Regional Perfusion Cancer Therapy Center

Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemoperfusion Treatment

Many tumors too advanced for surgical removal remain confined to a single organ or region of the body. Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC) is a surgical technique that we use to treat these types of tumors.

What Can I Expect During Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemoperfusion?

In HIPEC, our surgeons may first debulk, or partially remove, the tumor prior to treating.

• Afterwards, the surgeon makes two small incisions and inserts tubes:
  • One to pump the heated chemotherapy solution into your body.
  • One to circulate the fluid back to the heating equipment.
• Once the treatment begins, the temperature in the chest cavity rises to between 105 and 107.6 F (40.6 and 42 C).
• The chemotherapy solution circulates for several hours to kill the cancer cells.
• The pump is turned off to allow the treated region to cool to normal temperature.
• Then the surgeon removes the tubes and temperature probes, closes the incisions, and sends you to recovery.

Cancer Types Treated with Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemoperfusion:

• late-stage and advanced cancers
• metastases
• peritoneal carcinomatosis
• peritoneal mesothelioma

Additional Resources:

For Patients:

• Watch an informative video about the hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC) program.

The free RealPlayer® plugin is required to view this video.

For Physicians:

• Sign up to receive more information about the HIPEC program.