Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Complete surgical removal of peritoneal mesothelioma is rarely possible, and most commonly, operative intervention is used to provide palliation (treatment aimed at relieving the symptoms and pain) for intestinal obstruction (blockage of the bowel preventing the passage of material).

If there is no evidence of obstruction, then significant palliative and possible curative cytoreductive surgery in combination with intraoperative, intraperitoneal heated chemotherapy at the time of surgery may be performed. This technique permits the administration of high concentrations of selected drugs into the abdominal and pelvic surfaces. The drug makes contact with all the peritoneal surfaces of the tumor-resected areas. This procedure is used to kill any of the cancer cells left behind while minimizing harm to the normal body cells.