Hands-on HIPEC Workshop for Theatre Nursing Staff - Teaching Hospital Peradeniya
On 20th October 2026, the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, hosted a focused hands-on workshop on operating the SunChip 2 HIPEC system (Gamida). It was attended mainly by operating theatre nurses from Teaching Hospital Peradeniya and Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama.
The session was led by Ms. Sonia Ait Djafer, Medical Applications Engineer at GAMIDA, France. She covered machine setup, perfusion circuit priming, temperature and flow monitoring, safety checks and troubleshooting.
The workshop was run alongside a Cytoreductive Surgery and HIPEC (CRS-HIPEC) procedure performed by Dr. Kaushika Gunasekare (Teaching Hospital Peradeniya), Dr. Rasitha Manathunga and Dr. Jayamal Ariyarathna (Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama). Participants could see the theory applied in a live clinical setting.
CRS-HIPEC is a complex, team-dependent treatment for selected patients with peritoneal surface malignancies. As one of only two centres in Sri Lanka offering this service, we see well-trained nursing and theatre teams as central to delivering it safely. Training together across institutions is an important step in strengthening this service nationally.
Our sincere thanks to Ms. Ait Djafer, and all the nursing and theatre staff from both hospitals who took part.
1
2
3
4