What happens during a whole-body hyperthermia?
The whole-body hyperthermia takes place under a high doses of sedativa or under general anesthesia. It is therefore more demanding than the loco-regional therapy procedures. At the beginning the patient is positioned on the positioning table for the whole-body applicator and is prepared for the treatment. The necessary accesses to the veins (and possibly also to the arteries) are placed by the anesthesist. Then the anesthesia is induced. The further steps, including the positioning of further temperature probes in the lower intestines or in the bladder, are carried out with the patient being unaware. During a whole-body hyperthermia, it takes 1-2 hours before the desired temperature of 41,5 – 42 C is reached in the whole organism. During another 60 minutes this temperature is maintained. Consequently, the treatment as a whole takes 2-3 hours plus a cooling down phase of approx. 30 minutes (until the temperatures in the body are again under 39 C).
