a tool being utilized to treat thousands of functional brain disorders every year without the danger involved in invasive procedures.
Not many people can say they were up and about the same day after treatment of
a brain tumor. This is now possible with the Gamma Knife, a technology utilizing gamma rays to treat brain disorders successfully and with no incision. These requirements are essential when trying to treat the disorders in a sensitive organ as the brain, where millimeters may mean the difference between life or death or brain damage.
not used until many years later when advanced
diagnostic methods were developed. With
the advent of technology such as the MRI and CT scan, the Gamma Knife’s full
capabilities are finally being realized.
Conditions often treated
with the technology are arteriovenus malformations,
acoustic neuromas, meningiomas, pituitary adenomas,
and brain metastases. The risk of
surgical complications is non-existent since the procedure is performed without
an incision. It is also almost
painless; patients usually opt for just local anesthesia and a mild
sedative. The patient’s head does not
even need to be shaved for the procedure.
During invasive procedures,
surgeons are forced to actually penetrate the brain
and work with MRI and CAT scan pictures to locate tumors
and remove them. This is often an
inaccurate procedure that may leave portions of the tumor still in the brain
and require another operation. Another
downside to invasive procedure is that tumors located near extremely sensitive
portions of the brain cannot be operated on without compromising the safety of
the patient. These procedures also
require moths of rehabilitation after the operation. With the Gamma Knife, all of these problems are greatly
reduced. Tumors or blood vessel
abnormalities are destroyed with 0.1 mm accuracy. Multiple tumors can be destroyed easily because the entire
procedure is only about half an hour long.
A person treated in this way can also return to daily activities in just
a day or two. The success rate for
controlling the tumor growth is 85 to 90 percent.
The Gamma Knife was developed as a tool to improve cranial operations. Private entrepreneurs are already known to have bought some up as forms of income. Mild abnormalities and pains are being treated with the Gamma Knife where its use is not even required. The technology is already being abused. At the other end of the spectrum though, it is helping thousands of patients each year avoid dangerous surgery under the scalpel. In a day of rising medical costs and managed care, the Gamma Knife is also cost-effective. With no need for long hospital stays or rehabilitation, the procedure is obviously highly recommended by medical-insurance providers.
The Gamma Knife is revolutionizing the treatment of brain disorders. Before, when a cancer spread to the brain, it was considered a terminal illness. Now, a patient is able to walk in and be treated in just a half hour. There have not even been any reported deaths or complications resulting from the procedure. It is being bought for use in many hospitals around the world and may be, in the not too distant future, as common as any other surgical procedure performed today.
Bibliography
http://www.chw.edu/mha/Gamma/gamma.html
http://www.chw.edu/mha/Gamma/Q&A.html
http://gammaknife.org/technical.html