Cancer: Stopping Melanoma in its Tracks
Reported May 26, 2010
ATLANTA (Ivanhoe Newswire) — This year, 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with cancer. The goal is to catch the disease before it spreads, increasing the odds of survival. Doctors developed a new kind of surgery that could help some patients stop the cancer in its tracks — with less risk of another trip to the hospital.
“It all started when I saw a mole on my leg,” 16-year-old Grant Grussing told Ivanhoe.
Grant thought the small lesion on his leg was nothing. Tests showed it was melanoma, and it spread to his lymph nodes.
“Your 16-year-old son, and knowing there’s a potential for really the worst to happen, is just devastating,” Grant’s father, Don, told Ivanhoe.
Grant needed surgery.
“If you are able to remove the lymph nodes completely, you have the opportunity to stop cancer in its tracks,” Viraj Master, M.D., assistant professor of urology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Ga., told Ivanhoe.
Traditionally, removing lymph nodes from the thigh and groin area meant an 8- to 10-inch incision and a 50 percent risk of complications
“The enormity of the risk of the procedure is based in the fact that it’s a large incision in an area that’s prone to infection,” Keith Delman, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at Emory, told Ivanhoe.
Dr. Delman helped develop a new approach. Instead of one big incision, he makes three half-inch incisions in the thigh. He fills the leg with air, then goes under the skin to remove the lymph nodes, staying clear of vital structures.
Grant jumped back into competitive swimming less than a month after surgery and so far, tests show he’s cancer-free.
“I’m good to go, 100 percent,” Grant said.
Now, with his dad cheering him on, he’s full speed ahead toward a healthier future.
The new lymph node surgery was modified at Emory University, where doctors have performed more than 40 of the procedures so far. The procedure has shown a significant reduction in complications like infection and leg swelling compared to the standard open procedure.
