He underwent 3 different surgeries in a single session.

Mehmet Halil Kadınkız (66), who had undergone chemotherapy due to colon cancer and had to undergo surgery before the treatment was completed because the tumor was blocking his intestines, underwent three surgeries in a single session. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mir Ali Purbager stated that during the last surgery, 4 masses in the patient’s liver were surgically removed, and said, ‘We identified 8 metastatic lesions that we would intervene with microwave ablation before the surgery, but during the surgery, we found 30 lesions and we also eliminated them.’

Living in Izmir, Retired Tobacco Technology Engineer Mehmet Halil Kadınkız was diagnosed with colon cancer last year. Kadınkız, who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and had metastases in his liver, applied to Acıbadem Kent Oncology Center for treatment. Kadınkız’s condition was discussed in the tumor board, and chemotherapy was initiated based on the board’s decision. While under the supervision of Medical Oncologist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gürbüz Görümlü, the patient underwent chemotherapy, but the tumor blocked his intestines. As a result, Kadınkız was urgently taken into surgery before the completion of his treatment. Kadınkız was operated on by General Surgery Professor Dr. Cem Terzi at Acıbadem Kent Hospital, the tumor in the colon was removed, and a procedure called colostomy was performed. Then, chemotherapy was resumed, and while the treatment was ongoing, growth was detected in a tumor in the liver. Subsequently, Kadınkız’s condition was discussed again in the tumor board, and the board decided on surgery. It was planned to perform 3 surgeries in a single session for both closing the colostomy and removing the liver metastases. The surgery was performed by General Surgeons Prof. Dr. Emre Canda, Prof. Dr. Murat Kılıç, and Interventional Radiology Specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mir Ali Purbager. Firstly, Prof. Dr. Canda closed the hernia developed after the first operation with the stoma. Following Prof. Dr. Canda, Prof. Dr. Kılıç removed 4 masses in the liver, the largest of which was 2.4 cm in diameter.

Microwave ablation method was applied
Prior to the surgery, a PET scan revealed 8 metastases in the liver that were not suitable for surgery, but Assoc. Prof. Dr. Purpager stated that this situation changed during the surgery. ‘We were planning to intervene with microwave ablation in the liver for 8 lesions. However, during the surgery, we identified 30 lesions in the liver with intraoperative ultrasound imaging. We intervened with the microwave ablation method on these 30 lesions during open surgery. In the microwave ablation method, electromagnetic waves are sent into the tissue. These waves move the water molecules in the tissue in wave forms, and the friction of these molecules generates heat ranging from 80-100 degrees on average. The resulting heat causes tissue death in an area of about 3 cm in diameter around the needle, just like in radiofrequency. As a result of this intervention, all metastases in the patient’s liver were eliminated. In other words, there were no tumors or masses formed through tumors and metastases in the patient’s body. The surgery lasted 9 hours,’ he explained.

‘We performed 3 surgeries in a single session’
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Purpager emphasized that they performed three different treatments in the same session through teamwork. ‘Another feature of this case is that the number of lesions intervened with the microwave ablation method was much higher than normal. Normally, 5-6 lesions are intervened with this method. However, due to the different situation during this patient’s surgery, the number of lesions we intervened with was 30, making it the highest number of lesions in a case where this method was applied,’ he said.

On the other hand, Mehmet Halil Kadınkız, who spent the last year fighting the illness, said, ‘Those were difficult days, they are behind me. I owe leaving these difficult days behind to my doctors. I thank each and every one of them separately. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly from now on, and I won’t experience a bad surprise,’ he said.