Technology
Since 1968, worldwide use of the Gamma Knife has expanded treatment options for thousands of adult and pediatric patients with brain disorders.
The Gamma Knife is a stereotactic radiosurgical instrument that delivers a single high dose of precisely focused radiation, through the intact skull, to a small and critically located intracranial volume. With pinpoint accuracy, 192 beams of cobalt-60 radiation arrest or reduce tissue growth by distorting the DNA mapping of the cells.
As a non-invasive treatment for individuals with well-defined patient profiles, including those who have benign and malignant brain tumors, vascular abnormalities or Trigeminal Neuralgia, Gamma Knife surgery offers a low-risk, safe, and cost-effective alternative.
We called it a "Knife" just to make the surgeons feel better.
The technology is complex, the results – astonishing. Using the newest, most advanced version of the Gamma Knife, The Gamma Knife Center at Methodist Hospital are working to make the term “inoperable” obsolete. Today, treating even the most difficult to reach tumors in the brain and neck is possible, without conventional surgery and without a scalpel.
After locating tumors with the most powerful and accurate MRI available today, specially trained surgeons and radiation oncologists focus beams of radiation from the Gamma Knife directly on the affected area, leaving surrounding tissue untouched. Patients are able to return home the same day and resume their pre-surgical activities within days.
To date, more than 1,700 patients have been treated at The Gamma Knife Center at Methodist Hospital.
Surgical precision with no incision.
During treatment, patients are fitted with a frame that keeps their head from moving. They are awake and able to communicate. After locating tumors with the most powerful and accurate MRI available today, specially trained neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists determine the path the radiation beams must travel. Then precise beams of radiation from the Gamma Knife are focused directly on the affected area, leaving surrounding healthy tissue untouched. Treatment takes anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour, depending on the size and shape of the tumor. Patients are able to return home the same day and resume their pre-surgical activities within days.
Gamma-Knife Radiosurgery is effective in treating these conditions:
Brain tumors.
Below are some types of tumors that are commonly treated with Gamma Knife:
- Malignant: gliomas, astrocytoma
- Benign: acoustic, meningioma, pituitary
- Metastatic: breast, lung, renal, melanom
Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs).
Radiosurgery can offer a less invasive option with less risk of neurological injury.
Trigeminal neuralgia.
Offers hope to patients with severe facial pain with a treatment that typically lasts under 30 minutes.
Advantages of the Gamma Knife Procedure
- The Gamma Knife is covered by most insurance companies
- Avoids risks and complications of traditional surgery
- Typically a single treatment is all that is needed
- More cost effective than traditional surgery
- Patient’s hospital stay is 70 to 90 percent shorter than with conventional surgery
- Meets safety standards of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Non-invasive treatment; no scarring or disfigurement
- No injury to normal tissue
- Few side effects: mild nausea or headache may occur
- Short recovery period: return to pre-surgical activities within days of treatment
- Radiation dose only on the targeted lesion