HIPEC at Hartford Hospital

Instead of traditional intravenous (IV) chemotherapy, which circulates through the bloodstream, HIPEC is a warm chemotherapy bath in the abdominal cavity where higher doses of medication target cancer cells too small to be seen and removed surgically. HIPEC, which can be offered alone or with traditional chemotherapy, ensures:

• Greater efficiency. The high temperature of the medicine is more effective against cancer cells, including those that have metastasized to the surface of the abdominal wall or abdominal organs. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that patients with advanced ovarian cancer lived about 12 months longer if they received HIPEC.
• Safer delivery of higher doses of chemotherapy.
• Fewer side effects because the medication does not circulate throughout the body. Keeping the chemo in one place in the body also lowers the patient’s overall toxicity exposure.
• Less treatments. HIPEC is delivered in one session, versus several for traditional IV chemotherapy.

HIPEC is given to patients in the operating room. Specially-trained oncology surgeons:

• Remove visible signs of cancer, including tumors.
• Deliver heated, liquid HIPEC directly into the abdominal cavity, where it circulates and bathes the tissue and organs for 90 minutes.
• Drain the abdominal cavity.
• Close the incision.

All patients with Stage IV abdominal cancers can be considered for HIPEC.

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