Deaths after peritoneal lavage with mercuric chloride solutions: case report and review of the literature.

Mercuric chloride solutions have been used in operations for over 30 years in attempts to kill cancer cells implanted on healthy tissue. Three applications have emerged. The most common is the use of 1/500 and 1/1000 solutions to wash out the bowel lumen during operations for colorectal carcinona.'-3 The second is simple wound irrigation to prevent recurrences in the scar, particularly in breast cancer.' The third is intraperitoneal application where seeding of a visceral cancer is feared.'-3 5 All these applications carry the theoretical risk of