La Paz University Hospital incorporates for the first time into the public healthcare system of Madrid the isolated limb perfusion (ILP), a procedure for advanced tumours in arms and legs that can prevent amputation in selected cases.
The La Paz University Hospital in Madrid has launched a multidisciplinary programme of isolated limb perfusion (ILP) to treat selected patients with soft tissue sarcomas, melanomas, and other locally advanced tumours of the extremities, as reported by epe.es.
This technique is being introduced for the first time into the public healthcare of the Community of Madrid and can allow, in certain cases, the preservation of the affected limb and its functionality, avoiding more radical procedures such as amputation when the clinical and oncological conditions of the patient make it possible.
The procedure consists of temporarily separating the blood circulation of the affected arm or leg from the rest of the body and connecting it to an extracorporeal circulation circuit. This allows for direct administration of high concentrations of antineoplastic drugs to the limb, increasing their action on the tumour and reducing the exposure of the rest of the body to the treatment.
The technique, known as ILP from the English acronym Isolated Limb Perfusion, aims for greater local control of the disease and to achieve in some patients a reduction or tumour response that subsequently allows for less aggressive surgery.
Extremity sarcomas can reach an extent that makes conservative surgery difficult and may, in certain cases, necessitate considering amputation. The hospital centre emphasises that isolated limb perfusion does not replace conservative surgery when it is viable, nor does it replace amputation when it is necessary from an oncological perspective. It is proposed as a therapeutic alternative for carefully selected cases.
Its use can become particularly important when an amputation would have a particularly severe functional impact or when the patient rejects this possibility. The decision is always made after analysing the characteristics of the tumour and the individual situation of the patient within a multidisciplinary team specialised in sarcomas.
The implementation of the programme at La Paz Hospital has required the development of new care circuits, specific training, and coordination of numerous services within the centre.
It does not replace conservative surgery when it is viable, nor does it replace amputation when it is necessary from an oncological perspective.
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