Sarcoma
Sarcoma is a type of cancerous tumor that develops in soft tissue such as the muscle, nerves, fat and blood vessels.
Surgery to remove the tumor is a common treatment for sarcoma.
Types of Sarcoma Surgery
They type of surgery depends on where the tumor is located and if and where the cancer has spread.
Wide Local Excision
Your surgeon removes the tumor along with a large part (at least one to two cm) of the surrounding tissue, also called the margin. The goal of a wide local excision is to completely remove the tumor as much as possible of the potentially cancerous cells around the tumor. Radiation or chemotherapy may be used to kill any cancerous cells left behind.
Limb-Sparing Surgery vs. Amputation
Most sarcomas occur in the arms or legs. In the past, these sarcomas were treated with amputation (removal of a limb).
But today, thanks to advanced surgical expertise and technology, most patients with sarcoma can be treated without amputation in a limb-sparing surgery. Cancer Care Northwest’s skilled surgical oncologists have successfully performed many complicated limb-sparing surgeries to remove sarcomas that would have once required amputation.
Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC)
Cancer Care Northwest is the only treatment center in the multi-state Northwest that offers Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC), an innovative chemotherapy procedure performed during surgery that can be used to treat sarcomas that have spread to the abdomen.
With HIPEC, a surgical oncologist removes all visible signs of the cancer. During the operation, heated chemotherapy drugs (heat makes the chemo more powerful) are circulated up to 90 minutes throughout the abdominal cavity to kill remaining cancerous cells.
Cancer Care Northwest’s Dr. Ryan Holbrook, surgical oncologist, is recognized throughout the nation for his expertise in HIPEC. He has used the procedure to treat more than 100 patients over the past 12 years.