Monday, June 4, 2012

Gamma Knife in India

Why Gamma Knife


Benefits

  • Extremely accurate and highly effective
  • Specially designed system that extends treatment from the brain to the neck and the skull base.
  • Fully automated one-push button operation, which saves time and drastically reduces the treatment duration.
  • Less radiation delivered to the rest of the body.
  • Effective treatment of metastases in a single session, without general anesthesia and with minimal complications.
  • Immediate return of patients to their normal activities.
  • Improved quality of life for patients.

Gamma Knife Radiosurgery based on clinical evidence

Compared to open surgery:
  • Just as effective
  • Better cost-benefit ratio
  • Less complications
In today’s cost-driven healthcare environment, it is crucial to evaluate any investment made on expensive new technologies based on proven results. This is especially true when choosing the best possible care for patients suffering from serious neurological disorders and cancer. In such cases, Leksell Gamma Knife radiosurgery offers a range of benefits, supported by years of evidence-based medicine.

Proven and documented results

Clinical results for Gamma Knife treatment have been extensively published in peer-reviewed journals, which cite significant increases in successful outcomes. Only Leksell Gamma Knife can show long-term performance and cost-effectiveness with improved quality of life for patients.

Constantly-evolving practice

Gamma Knife radiosurgery is constantly expanding, with ongoing research for new indications and the development of existing protocols. The design of Leskell Gamma Knife makes it especially suitable for treating multiple targets, which in most cases means brain metastases.
Nearly 200,000 patients with brain metastases have been documented in scientific papers. With extremely good tumor control rate, few side effects and the ability to treat multiple targets effectively, Gamma Knife radiosurgery occupies a unique position in this field.
With all the clinical and management advantages of Gamma Knife radiosurgery, it has become a preferred method in the treatment of metastatic tumors. The unique ability to treat multiple brain metastases provides new opportunities for patients to prolong their life and gain better quality of life.

Risks

Compared to alternative open brain surgery, the risks associated with Gamma Knife are almost nonexistent. On some occasions, patients may experience a mild headache for half an hour after the treatment. Due to the intensity of the therapy and its aim to cause necrosis of the target, in about 8% of the cases, temporary swelling may be manifested, which requires administration of anti-inflammatory medication. Patients prone to epilepsy may experience seizures, so the regular dose of antiepileptic medication may be increased for a few days.
Given that radiotherapy may cause tumors, many people are afraid that this may also happen after Gamma Knife treatment. In the over half a million patients who have undergone Gamma Knife treatment in the last 20 years, no new tumors have developed in comparison to patients who were treated using alternative methods, so there is no need for concern..

Dr.Sanjay Mongia


Gamma Knife in Assam

What is Gamma Knife radiosurgery?


Gamma Knife radiosurgery, or scalpel-free surgery, is an alternative form of treatment as opposed to open craniotomy. It is a non-invasive surgical procedure performed with local anesthesia as a one-day treatment, with patients experiencing minimal discomfort.
With this method, a high dose of radiation is delivered with absolute accuracy to small intracranial targets (tumors or focal lesions) in one session, leaving the surrounding tissue unaffected.
No recovery time is necessary, which is extremely important for the patients, as they may resume their normal activities one day after the procedure. It is the ideal treatment for pediatric tumors, since the radiation dose delivered to the healthy brain tissue is very small. The complications are minimal and quite insignificant compared to open neurosurgery.
Gamma Knife radiosurgery offers major benefits to brain surgery, changing the state of affairs in the field of neurosurgery. It is a well-known fact that in certain brain disorders, surgical approach is linked to significant morbidity and mortality, due to various factors, such as the depth and the exceptional nature of the lesion, as well as its position in relation to the arteries, nerves and other vital brain centers.
Treatment with Gamma Knife does not remove the target, but it distorts the DNA of the targeted tumor cells. As a result, these cells lose their ability to reproduce, break up and are removed with the help of the immune system. In arteriovenous malformations, radiosurgery increases vessel wall thickness, and the vessels in turn become unobstructed. The clinical results in benign tumors and vascular malformations become evident in about 6-24 months, while in malignant and metastatic tumors, they may be evident in as early as 2-3 months.
The procedure may be performed exclusively as the first option treatment or in combination with other treatment techniques (surgery, radiotherapy, embolism). Moreover, it may deliver doses of radiation to more than one target during the one session, without any further complications from irradiating part of or the entire brain.
The technique requires close collaboration between the neurosurgeon and the radiation oncologist to decide on the most suitable treatment per patient, and determine the target and the radiosensitive areas, the treatment doses and the natural tolerance limits, the aim of the treatment, and the possible combination of other treatment options. Participation of a radiation physicist is also necessary, as they formulate the treatment plan for the optimal adjustment of the dose to the target.

Clinical need for greater potential

Taking into account the most common indications for Gamma Knife radiosurgery, approximately 375 people per one million are considered eligible candidates to undergo the specific procedure. This number will surely increase in the future.
The incidence of cancer is expected to increase by 50%, with 16 million new cases expected to arise by the year 2020. Bearing in mind that about 20-40% of the total number of cancer patients will exhibit brain metastases, it is evident that Leskell Gamma Knife will play a significant role in the healthcare services provided in the future.


Dr.Sanjay Mongia

Gamma Knife in Kolkatta