Another first for Pindara Selective Internal Radiation Therapy Interventional Radiologists have recently performed the first Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) procedure at Pindara Private Hospital. SIRT uses radiotherapy to treat liver cancer that cannot be removed by surgery or local ablative techniques such as radiofrequency ablation. The life-extending procedure is completed in two stages (generally one or two weeks apart) and involves administering radiation directly into, or close to, the tumour rather than it being directed from outside the body. Recently published research has shown a successful SIRT procedure can extend life with reasonable quality for up to eight months. Stage One of the procedure involved the patient undergoing an angiogram to map the liver and identify specific blood vessels, which were then embolised (blocked) to prevent “seepage” of radiation to other major organs and healthy tissue during the procedure’s second stage. Stage Two, which was performed a week later, involved inserting a small flexible catheter through a small puncture in the groin and then guiding it up into the liver. Radioactive SIRSpheres microspheres, containing yttrium-90 (Y-90), which were small enough to flow through the hepatic arteries but too large to pass through the small blood vessels within the tumour, were then administered directly into the liver via the catheter. The microspheres became permanently lodged in the tumour, thus administering a highly targeted radiation dose of Y-90 directly to the tumour, while other major organs and healthy tissue received minimum exposure to the radiation. Doctors Hal Rice and Laetitia de Villiers performed the procedure in Pindara’s new state-of-the-art hybrid theatre, which is equipped with high quality, CT-like imaging and advanced 3D guidance interventional tools. It also features a Maquet operating table, a unique combination that provides the flexibility and functionality required to perform an SIRT procedure. Dr Rice said he was pleased with the success of the procedure and the opportunity it offered to terminally ill patients. “Patients previously had to travel to Brisbane, interstate or internationally, to receive this type of treatment, but these people can now remain at home on the Gold Coast, close to their friends and family – which is fantastic,” Dr Rice said. “The Gold Coast now offers a world-class service that extends the life of terminally ill patients with a treatment that does not further diminish their quality of life.” “We can now do this because we have world-class facilities at Pindara and the latest technology and expertise locally,” he said. Pindara Private is the only hospital on the Gold Coast to offer Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT). 20 Pindara Magazine 2015
Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Five
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