Isolated limb perfusion

Isolated limb perfusion is a surgical procedure that can be used to treat an advanced malignant melanoma and soft tissue sarcomas, it is also effective in treating in-transit metastases of melanoma and local metastases of soft tissue sarcomas. With perfusion of the affected limb with cytostatic agents it is possible to avoid amputation and mutilating operations that significantly reduced the function of the limb. Since the procedure is isolated on a limb, it can be perfused with much higher doses of cytotoxic drugs, systemic toxicity is thus reduced or prevented. The most common side effects are erythema and edema.Cytotoxic drugs, that are manly used, are melphalan and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Efficient also proved to be simultaneous hyperthermia of the affected limb.