MADURAI: A team of doctors at the Apollo Speciality Hospital in Madurai has successfully treated a liver cancer patient by performing microwave ablation of the tumor after detecting it at an early stage. The procedure was performed last month for a 61-year-old male patient from Theni. This treatment method for liver cancer is a milestone for Madurai Apollo and the patient is doing well now.
Talking to reporters at a press meet held today – on 4th January 2022, doctors said that the number of patients with cirrhosis developing cancer is increasing every year. Dr.J.Madhusudhanan, liver transplant consultant, Dr.A.John Robert, consultant interventional radiologist and Dr.C.Praveen Kumar, consultant medical gastroenterologist have explained about the novel procedure in the presence of Dr.Rohini Sridhar, senior vice president (Medical Services) Apollo Hospitals Madurai Division and Mr.K.Manikandan, general manager-healthcare services.
Dr.Madhusudhanan and Dr.John Robert stressed that there is a potential for treatment and cure of liver cancer if identified at an early stage. For the patient from Theni, the treatment was done using microwave energy (same energy used in microwave oven) to destroy the cancer cells by inserting a long needle into the tumor. “The patient was discharged in two days and the microwave ablation duration was only 30 minutes,” the expert doctors told media persons here today.
While alcohol consumption is a major reason, there is also Non-Alcoholic Steato hepatitis (NASH) associated with metabolic syndrome or diabetes becoming fastest growing cause of liver cancer. Routine patient surveillance of cirrhosis patients by doing radiological imaging, through medical evaluation and blood tests can detect liver cancer at an early stage. “The procedure was done for the first time in Madurai,” the doctors said. Medical gastroenterologist Dr.Rajesh Prabhu was also part of the medical team that performed this microwave ablation procedure for liver cancer. Jaundice, poor appetite and weight loss were reported among the patients.
