Isolated Limb Perfusion

Many patients with melanoma or sarcoma have tumors in the arms or legs that cannot be surgically removed. Isolated limb perfusion is the only method for treatment, save amputation. Unlike chemotherapy (where the drugs are put in the bloodstream), only small amounts of the treatment drug enters the healthy parts of the body. This makes treatment more effective while avoiding common chemotherapy side effects. At UPMC Cancer Centers, this treatment is given by the David C. Koch Regional Perfusion Cancer Therapy Center.

Isolated Limb Perfusion works by separating the blood flow of the limb from the rest of the body, and circulating a high dose of a chemotherapy drug through the limb for a short period of time. Isolated limb perfusion is performed in the operating room with the patient asleep under general anesthesia; the treatment takes 60 to 90 minutes. One tube is placed into the artery which feeds blood into the limb and a second tube is placed into the vein which drains blood from it. A tourniquet is tied around the limb to make sure blood from the limb does not enter the body. The blood exits the limb through the tubes, is heated and oxygenated by machines in the operating room, and then recirculated back into the limb. Concentrated chemotherapy drugs are put into the limb at the start of the session; by the end of the perfusion the drug is completely washed out of the limb, and the limb's circulation is returned to normal.

Complete information on this technique is available on the Division of Surgical Oncology website.