› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Surgery while on Keytruda?
- This topic has 6 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 11 months ago by
Bubbles.
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- June 10, 2015 at 4:54 am
Has anyone out there had any surgery while taking Keytruda? My husband's resected malig mel, up in his spinal cord at C1-2, is stable, on Keytruda X 9 mo., no mets. His only SEs from Keytruda are itching & fatigue. So his orthopedist, in consult with his Onc doc, is suggesting arthroscopic repair to MRI defined meniscal tears which are causing him significant pain in his left knee and difficulty walking. He uses hiking poles for stability & can't walk far at one time. His knees were fine, never a problem, before surgery 10/13 but the left knee was painful to flex after surgery. As he recovered, it began improving. His knee began to really bother him, would give out, about a month after starting Keytruda (11 months after surgery) & it's steadily gotten worse. I understand immunotherapy can cause increased pain at sites that have already some irritation/inflammation, as say someone who has coexisting arthritis. We're with Kaiser.
Appreciate any wisdom, red flags, questions we should ask, advice from your experience with surgery/Keytruda. Thanks in advance. Have gotten so many helpful tips/links from everyone's posts..A.L.
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- June 10, 2015 at 2:15 pm
I had a Squamish removed in two surgeries from my neck just after my first dose of yervoy. Didn't have any surgeries when I was on keytruda. My doc basically explained having surgery is like having an open wound where your immune system tries to fix the wound. Since we are on the immunotherapy meds thst can cause our system to go into hyperdrive crazy.
Not sure that helped any. I didn't have any problems with my neck.
Artie
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- June 10, 2015 at 2:15 pm
I had a Squamish removed in two surgeries from my neck just after my first dose of yervoy. Didn't have any surgeries when I was on keytruda. My doc basically explained having surgery is like having an open wound where your immune system tries to fix the wound. Since we are on the immunotherapy meds thst can cause our system to go into hyperdrive crazy.
Not sure that helped any. I didn't have any problems with my neck.
Artie
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- June 10, 2015 at 2:15 pm
I had a Squamish removed in two surgeries from my neck just after my first dose of yervoy. Didn't have any surgeries when I was on keytruda. My doc basically explained having surgery is like having an open wound where your immune system tries to fix the wound. Since we are on the immunotherapy meds thst can cause our system to go into hyperdrive crazy.
Not sure that helped any. I didn't have any problems with my neck.
Artie
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- June 11, 2015 at 12:02 pm
Dear AL,
Glad to hear that your husband's orthopedic doc is consulting with the oncologist. Anti-PD1 (both Nivo/Opdivo and Pembro/Keytruda) can cause arthritis and arthralgia. Here is a post I put together re: side effects a bit ago –
http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2013/10/side-effects-of-nivolumab.html
Here is an article addressing arthritis and anti-PD1 in particular –
However, if the ortho has looked at the MRI, sees things he thinks he can fix to reduce your husband's pain and increase his ambulation, with full understanding of anti-PD1's potential side effects regarding joint pain….then I don't think that there should be a problem caused by the surgery specifically while on anti-PD1. I think the only catch would be if you were on a trial that did not allow surgey, but I don't think anti-PD1 drugs cause any specific problems with a surgical procedure. Sadly, I know of several folks who had to have surgery for mets while on the drugs and there were no related problems. Wishing you both my best, celeste
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- June 11, 2015 at 12:02 pm
Dear AL,
Glad to hear that your husband's orthopedic doc is consulting with the oncologist. Anti-PD1 (both Nivo/Opdivo and Pembro/Keytruda) can cause arthritis and arthralgia. Here is a post I put together re: side effects a bit ago –
http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2013/10/side-effects-of-nivolumab.html
Here is an article addressing arthritis and anti-PD1 in particular –
However, if the ortho has looked at the MRI, sees things he thinks he can fix to reduce your husband's pain and increase his ambulation, with full understanding of anti-PD1's potential side effects regarding joint pain….then I don't think that there should be a problem caused by the surgery specifically while on anti-PD1. I think the only catch would be if you were on a trial that did not allow surgey, but I don't think anti-PD1 drugs cause any specific problems with a surgical procedure. Sadly, I know of several folks who had to have surgery for mets while on the drugs and there were no related problems. Wishing you both my best, celeste
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- June 11, 2015 at 12:02 pm
Dear AL,
Glad to hear that your husband's orthopedic doc is consulting with the oncologist. Anti-PD1 (both Nivo/Opdivo and Pembro/Keytruda) can cause arthritis and arthralgia. Here is a post I put together re: side effects a bit ago –
http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2013/10/side-effects-of-nivolumab.html
Here is an article addressing arthritis and anti-PD1 in particular –
However, if the ortho has looked at the MRI, sees things he thinks he can fix to reduce your husband's pain and increase his ambulation, with full understanding of anti-PD1's potential side effects regarding joint pain….then I don't think that there should be a problem caused by the surgery specifically while on anti-PD1. I think the only catch would be if you were on a trial that did not allow surgey, but I don't think anti-PD1 drugs cause any specific problems with a surgical procedure. Sadly, I know of several folks who had to have surgery for mets while on the drugs and there were no related problems. Wishing you both my best, celeste
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