Is HIPEC surgery risky?
The most common complications following cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC are bleeding and infection, which can occur with any surgery. Other less common complications include: The formation of blood clots in the legs that can travel to other parts of the body, such as the lungs.
In mesothelioma and appendix peritoneal metastasis, CRS/HIPEC has significantly improved 5-year survival from less than 10% to 50% to 90%, and CRS/HIPEC is considered the standard of care for these tumor types.
CRS-HIPEC is a complex procedure with some life-threatening complications in the immediate postoperative period, reported morbidity rates between 12%-60% and a mortality rate of 0.9%-5.8%.
Median overall survival was 18 months, with 71.3% survival at 1 year. Emotional well-being scores significantly improved after HIPEC.
UC San Diego Health's surgical oncology team is internationally recognized for its expertise in HIPEC.
Despite the efficacy of CRS/HIPEC in treating peritoneal surface disease, the majority of patients will eventually develop recurrent disease (2-4). Recurrence following CRS/HIPEC usually occurs in an isolated intra-abdominal location in 31-57% of patients (4-7).
If you've been diagnosed with peritoneal cancer or a cancer that originated elsewhere in the body and then spread (metastasized) into the abdomen, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotheraperfusion (HIPEC) treatment may offer renewed hope and improved outcomes.
For example, if the patient's cancer has spread outside the abdominal cavity, HIPEC is no longer a good option. Because HIPEC works by circulating chemotherapy medication inside the abdominal cavity, it isn't a good option to treat cancer that isn't confined there.
CRS-HIPEC is considered as a high morbid procedure. The early attempt from Fujimura et al. reported a morbidity of 50% and a reoperation rate of 33.3% (8).
Following cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC, it is not uncommon for patients to feel fatigued for 2-3 months post-operatively. While it is important to rest during this period of recovery, it is also important to get up, move around, and remain as active as possible.
Is HIPEC palliative?
HIPEC is also an effective palliative therapy for people with malignant ascites, or an accumulation of fluid buildup in the abdomen. This is a side effect of having tumors lining the peritoneum. A one-time HIPEC treatment can replace repeated visits for paracentesis for some patients.
Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery is a two-step procedure that treats certain cancers in the abdomen. Cancerous tumors are surgically removed, and then heated chemotherapy drugs are applied directly inside the abdomen to eliminate the remaining cancerous cells.

What is recovery like after HIPEC? After HIPEC, patients generally stay in the hospital for seven to 10 days. During that time, your digestive system will need to recover from the intense dose of chemotherapy you received. You'll get your nutrition via a feeding tube or IV while you recover.
The primary peritoneal cancer has a survival rate varying from 11-17 months. [70] In secondary peritoneal cancer, the median survival is six months in accordance with the stage of cancer (5-10 months for stages 0, I, and II, and 2-3.9 months for stage III-IV).
Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has become the treatment of choice for treating peritoneal metastases from ovarian, stomach, or colorectal cancers.
Insurance providers generally reimburse for the procedure in patients with appendiceal cancer, pseudomyxoma peritonei and mesothelioma of the abdomen. “Most providers do not approve HIPEC for colon cancer, yet they often cover surgery at 20 times the cost,” says Dr. Simpfendorfer.
HIPEC surgery can be more effective than traditional therapy because it inserts high doses of chemotherapy directly into the abdomen, an area that traditional methods of chemotherapy cannot reach as effectively. As an innovative procedure, HIPEC can improve long-term health outcomes after surgery.
Mitomycin C (MMC)
MMC is the most widely used and studied drug for HIPEC.
Some cancers are difficult to treat and have high rates of recurrence. Glioblastoma, for example, recurs in nearly all patients, despite treatment. The rate of recurrence among patients with ovarian cancer is also high at 85%.
- Pain.
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
- Diarrhea.
- Constipation.
- Bloating.
- Weight loss.
- Difficulty sleeping.
How much does HIPEC treatment cost?
Additionally, the level of medical treatment and services is on par with that of the greatest hospitals in the world in terms of quality and standard. The starting price for a HIPEC treatment in India is USD 15600.
You don't typically need to have more chemotherapy after HIPEC. This is because HIPEC can replace the typical course of chemo treatment with a one-time surgical procedure.
Benefits of HIPEC include: Decreased toxic side effects, since 90% of the chemotherapy drugs stay in the abdomen. More intense dose of chemotherapy, which can destroy more cancer cells. One treatment session, instead of multiple treatment sessions over several weeks.
General contraindications for CRS and HIPEC are (I) age >70 years; (II) serious medical histories; (III) clinical aggravation with systemic chemotherapy; (IV) malnutrition; (V) concomitant extra- abdominal metastasis; (VI) unresectable liver metastases (LM); and (VII) massive retroperitoneal bulk disease or lymph node ...
Treatment for appendix cancer can be trying. The surgery has been nicknamed the MOAS (mother of all surgeries) as depending on how many cancer affected organs and tissues are removed, it can be the equivalent of several “major surgeries”.
Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a treatment choice for peritoneal cancer. However, patients commonly suffer from severe postoperative pain.
Currently only a limited number of patients can be cured after they develop peritoneal metastases. However, there are treatments available which can potentially extend a patient's life expectancy and improve quality of life.
Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is considered experimental, investigational or unproven for any other indication.
The falciform ligament may be transected using a bipolar vessel sealing device to facilitate correct placement of the HIPEC tubing. The umbilical incision also may be extended 1 to 2 cm to accommodate the tubing. Says Dr. Michener, “A 7- to 8-cm incision is utilized for the palpation of the entire abdominal cavity.
A sign the HIPEC is in progress should be placed at the door and the entry of personnel not involved in the procedure should be restricted. Absorbent, disposable towels with impervious backs should be placed on the floor around the operating area to absorb any spillage [46].
What is the diet after HIPEC?
You will start a liquid diet 3–4 days after your surgery. If drinks with caffeine such as coffee, tea, and soda are part of your normal diet, you can drink them after you start a liquid diet. After that, your care team will let you add solid foods until you are eating normally.
For most cancers where palliative chemotherapy is used, this number ranges from 3-12 months. The longer the response, the longer you can expect to live.
Also known as “hot chemotherapy,” HIPEC is performed after the surgeon removes tumors or lesions from the abdominal area. After all visible tumors are removed, cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug, is heated to 103 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius) and pumped through the abdominal cavity.
In stage 4, cancer has spread to other organs and has two substages: 4A: Cancer cells are found in the fluid that builds up around the lungs. 4B: The cancer has spread to organs and tissues outside the abdomen, such as the liver, lungs, or lymph nodes in the groin.
In the past, many people did not live long with metastatic cancer. Even with today's better treatments, recovery is not always possible. But doctors can often treat cancer even if they cannot cure it. A good quality of life is possible for months or even years.
Although the overall prognosis may be poor based on cases with previous patients and older treatments, many patients with stage 4 cancer can live for years. A few factors to keep in mind: Many treatments are available to help fight cancer. The body's response to treatment may differ from that of others.
For example, the five-year survival rate for metastatic lung cancer is 7%. This means that 7% of people diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer are still alive five years later. Meanwhile, the five-year survival rate of metastatic breast cancer is 28% for women and 22% for men.
HIPEC is indicated when carcinomatosis is amenable to effective cytoreductive surgery allowing a CCR score ≤ 1.
If you've been diagnosed with peritoneal cancer or a cancer that originated elsewhere in the body and then spread (metastasized) into the abdomen, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotheraperfusion (HIPEC) treatment may offer renewed hope and improved outcomes.
What is recovery like after HIPEC? After HIPEC, patients generally stay in the hospital for seven to 10 days. During that time, your digestive system will need to recover from the intense dose of chemotherapy you received. You'll get your nutrition via a feeding tube or IV while you recover.
Is HIPEC surgery painful?
Intense inflammatory responses have been reported during surgical operations. Both surgical injuries and subsequent infections could cause inflammatory nociceptive pain after CRS + HIPEC treatment. This is especially significant in patients with complications [11, 12].
To that end, more recent descriptions of the total hospital cost of CRS/HIPEC from an academic and community medical center ranged from $38,369 to 49,248.