A Southern New England hospital is the first in the nation to perform an innovative treatment for liver tumors.
Roger Williams Medical Center is using a device recently cleared by the Food and Drug Administration that literally cooks tumors to death using microwave energy. That, in and of itself, isn't brand new. But the way of delivering it is.
Janice Hill was the first patient in the country to have the new treatment.
"I am amazed," Hill said.
Hill is amazed by so many things -- most of all, because she's alive and well just two months after what she thought was just a routine physical.
"He just sent me for the blood work, like a regular, and it came back a little bit high -- something, I don't even remember what it was. He said, 'Why don't you go get a sonogram of your liver and stuff?' So, I did," Hill said.
That was the first of many tests that led to a diagnosis of cancer. She had three tumors on her liver.
"She required a left hemi-hepitectomy, which is removal of the left lobe of the liver. And she required a right posterior section, which is removal of the back half of the right lobe of the liver," Dr. Joseph Espat explained.
The operation left Hill with only 40 percent of her liver and another cancerous tumor that needed to go.
"So, I've got to leave something behind that works that will keep her alive. So, the only way I can eradicate all the tumor now is to do the last lesion with microwave. Very predictable burn, knock out the tumor completely. The rest of her liver will grow back. Remember, liver grows back," Espat said.
Until Hill's operation, Espat used the first generation of microwave ablators. He said it was very large and inefficient.
Now he's using the latest version.
"It's a much smaller needle. It's about half the size of a darning needle. It is more efficient at delivering energy," Espat said.
And it's quicker and more accurate, Espat said.
In a nutshell, this is how it works:
The doctor sets the time and the power, in this case to 60 watts, essentially like you would a microwave oven.
"It reads a temperature of 170 degrees Fahrenheit," Espat said.
Ultrasound acts as the doctor's eyes, so the needle, with built in cooling from the saline, is guided to the precise spot and essentially cooks the tumor to death.
"In my opinion, microwaves are the next generation of thermal ablation," Espat said.
Hill had the new procedure one month ago. She was the first in the country to do so.
"I heard. He told me I may be famous after I woke up," Hill said.
Hill is doing well. She and her daughter will be embarking on a cruise in a few days to celebrate her new lease on life.
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