The Gamma Knife - A Medical Miracle

For individuals suffering from brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations and brain dysfunctions such as trigeminal neuralgia, the Gamma Knife provides a fairly non-invasive way to successfully treat these ailments. It also speeds recovery and gives the surgeon alternatives to traditional surgery or large scale radiation for the treatment of tumors. This treatment is sometimes the only option for patients who would not be able to withstand the trauma associated with common brain surgery. This procedure is also credited with saving the life of skating star Scott Hamilton.

The Gamma Knife is not actually a cutting device in the classic sense, it's an extremely powerful, precisely targeted radiological tool that utilizes a technique known as stereotactic radiosurgery to coordinate multiple beams of radiation into a single point. The converegence point is extremely small and is targeted in 3 dimensions using up to 200 beams of cobalt-60 generated gamma radiation so a tumor for example, can be treated from all directions and completely enveloped. This precise targeting requires a very sensitive control mechanism and a specialized targeting computer to ensure proper control. The patient is secured in place so that they kept very still using a restraint system or a head frame.

During the procedure the patient is sedated to limit discomfort and the computer administers the procedure under the control of a team of doctors and technicians. The procedure can take from several minutes to a few hours to complete and only a single treatment is typically required.

This small targeting zone for the Gamma Knife provides a number of important benefits over traditional radiation treatments such as the ability to use much more radiation energy to attack the problem area without damaging surrounding tissue. Since there is no physical cutting of the brain tissue, there is much less chance of brain damage than with conventional surgery. Also avoided are complications such as hemorrhage, infection, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage. It is also reported that the Gamma Knife procedure is up to 30% less costly than tradition neurosurgery. It is important to note that since the Gamma Knife uses very high levels of radiation it can only be used for very small tumors that are 3.5 cm or less in diameter.

The Gamma Knife is considered most effective for the following procedures:

1. Intracranial tumors such as acoustic neuromas, pituitary adenomas, pinealomas, craniopharyngiomas, meningiomas, chordomas, chondrosarcomas, metastases and glial tumors.

2. Vascular malformations including arteriovenous malformations.

3. Functional disorders such as trigeminal neuralgia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.