France Todd (centre) was part of a pilot study to reduce the amount of blood patients lose during liver surgery and limit their need for blood transfusions.<\/p>\n
France Todd\u2019s liver cancer came out of the blue.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was one of those flukes,\u201d said the avid downhill skier, CrossFitter, and mother of two. \u201cI went in for my annual check-up and my family doctor found traces of blood in my urine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suspicious spots on an MRI and a biopsy confirmed that she had a tumour.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy surgeon, Dr. Guillaume Martel, recommended having it removed the following week,\u201d said Todd, who was the director of human resources of a high-tech company at the time. \u201cI was in shock. I knew it would be a big disruption to my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thankfully, surgery to remove the 4-centimetre tumour went smoothly. Todd did not need a blood transfusion, unlike 25 percent of patients who undergo liver surgery.<\/p>\n
Todd was part of a pilot study<\/a> to test whether taking out 10 percent of a patient\u2019s blood before liver surgery, about the same volume as a blood donation, would reduce their bleeding during the operation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe basically removed blood from the patient into a blood donation bag before the surgery, and then put it back in once surgery is done,\u201d said Dr. Martel, a surgeon at The Ottawa Hospital and associate professor at the University of Ottawa. \u201cThis technique has been around for a long time. People feel intuitively that it works, but it\u2019s never been rigorously tested.\u201d<\/p>\n The technique is now being investigated in clinical trials, as part of Dr. Martel\u2019s larger research program to reduce unnecessary blood transfusions during liver surgery.<\/p>\n