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It was during the course of work at this position that Dr. Conway developed his interest in treating patients with Peritoneal Mesothelioma, a rare cancer affecting the tissue lining organs in the abdominal cavity. - The fact that California ranks No. 1 in the U.S. for Peritoneal mesothelioma deaths, underscores the benefit and appropriateness of Dr. Conway’s move to this area.
Peritoneal Mesothelioma is a rare but extremely multifarious cancer directly caused by inhaling microscopic toxic asbestos fibers, a ubiquitous building and manufacturing material used throughout the 20th century. Peritoneal cancer can multiply across the lining of the abdominal cavity to join nearby organs.
Dr. Conway specializes in Peritoneal Mesothelioma, in part, out of necessity. Although it is rare, Louisiana has a high incidence of this disease because of the asbestos commonly used in the shipbuilding industry on the Gulf Coast, so Dr. Conway saw more patients with this type of cancer than physicians in other regions of the country, and became inspired to work towards developing better treatment options.
He has been successful with his multimodal approach for treating Peritoneal Mesothelioma patients, which first includes, Cytoreductive Surgery to remove all visualized signs of the cancer cells or tumor(s). The surgery is then followed by Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC), which comprises pumping a heated chemotherapy solution into the abdomen, then allowing the solution to spread throughout the abdominal cavity for a period of 90 minutes before being drained.
Dr. Conway published his positive results, citing
proof, that the heated chemotherapy bath, which is more concentrated than systemic chemotherapy, can reach beyond discernable signs of cancer to mitigate elusive microscopic cancer cells. And, he has lectured about his experience and the procedure, including topics such as Epidural Use and Dissection to Facilitate Venous Resection during PancreaticoDuodenectomy.
Dr. Conway’s clinical interests include: complex upper GI oncologic surgery, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer including adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine tumors, biliary tract cancers, including cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancer; metastatic disease to the liver, ablation therapy of metastatic liver disease including microwave ablation, carcinoid tumors, abdominal sarcoma including GI stromal tumors (GIST), complex upper GI surgery for benign disease and minimally invasive approaches to gastric, pancreatic, and liver surgery.
Like many Anacapa Surgical Associates, Dr. Conway has been an active publisher, presenter and instructor and has accepted numerous academic and professional teaching opportunities. During his time in Louisiana, Dr. Conway was a Clinical Instructor at the Tulane School of Medicine in New Orleans.
Dr. Conway’s leadership experience includes his current position as the Director of Surgical Oncology at the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center in Santa Barbara, California, where he enthusiastically accepted the challenge and opportunity to design the Surgical Oncology Program. He will now be seeing patients at medical centers in both Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.
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