When a patient hears a diagnosis of brain cancer from a doctor, it sounds like a sentence to him. The first feelings that take possession of a person are confusion, fear, panic. Immediately there are a lot of questions. Why me? What to do? How to recover? Will I get healthy?
Operation without blood
Today, most people who are in trouble can be sure that the disease is treatable. A gamma knife will come to the rescue - a tool that can rightfully be called a wonder of the world of the twentieth century. The principle of operation of the advanced technique is based on the action of gamma radiation.
Despite the awesome name, it is a bloodless knife. The treatment method with its help does not include surgical intervention. It belongs to the category of stereotactic surgery, that is, the treatment of brain disease occurs without cutting and opening the skull. The technology was developed back in the sixties of the last century. The development belongs to Swedish specialists and was first applied in a private clinic in Stockholm.
The principle of the stereotactic method
What is a gamma knife? The essence of the method of radiosurgical treatment is the exact effect of radiation rays on the affected area of the brain. The fundamental difference between innovation and traditional chemotherapy is that irradiation occurs not with a single stream of radiation, but with a plurality of beams converging at one point. Due to this, the maximum concentration of the light flux falls on the focus of the disease, and the surrounding tissues remain almost untouched. A high degree of accuracy can be achieved due to the fact that the installation gives an error not exceeding a third of a millimeter.
The gamma knife operation allows doctors to influence even the most inaccessible areas of the brain without damaging healthy tissues. Using the radiosurgical method, it is equally possible to get rid of tumors of any property located in the pituitary gland or the Turkish saddle. Over many years of use in the world practice, excellent results have been noted on the impact on metastatic lesions. With the same success, the treatment of various vascular abnormalities of the head, some eye diseases.
Treatment benefits
Gamma knife gives an effect similar in its results to surgery. But it has several advantages:
- the operation is performed under the influence of local anesthesia ;
- treatment is carried out within one day;
- there are no risks of infection and bleeding;
- no hospitalization required;
- the method has no age limit for patients;
- provides normal tolerance;
- treatment costs are one third lower than during surgery.
Features of radiosurgery
The stereotactic method gives the maximum effect in cases where the diameter of the lesion does not exceed three centimeters. If the affected area is large, then specialists can decide to remove part of the tumor by surgery. Next comes radiosurgery. A gamma knife can also be used in combination with chemotherapy and, if necessary, repeatedly. Irradiation of the body with this method occurs in small doses and, as a rule, does not cause a deterioration in well-being. In order to achieve the best result in the fight against the disease, close cooperation between the doctors involved in radiation therapy and neurosurgeons must always be present.
In the treatment of brain metastases, there have been cases of simultaneous exposure to radiosurgical radiation on several foci. In such cases, the effectiveness of treatment increases with increasing duration of the procedure. The innovative model of the Perfexion beam knife is able to neutralize several dozen metastatic foci of the brain at once.
Is a gamma knife an alternative or a panacea?
Modern methods of non-invasive imaging enable doctors to make a more accurate diagnosis, in accordance with which to determine treatment tactics, including recommending the use of a gamma knife. Reviews and opinions of neurosurgeons in relation to this type of treatment come down to the fact that this is still not a panacea. It should be used only for certain indications. The result of this application will be the stop of the disease process. In some cases, a decrease in the size of the tumor is observed. A beam knife plays a very important role in maintaining the quality of life. By stopping the disease in its development, the method gives doctors time and the opportunity to choose the further direction of treatment.
How does the treatment with a radiation knife
Radiosurgical treatment is carried out in one session and consists of several stages.
- On the appointed day, the patient is placed on the head stereotactic frame. For accurate fixation and to avoid pain, local anesthesia is performed. Rigid fastening does not limit the activity of the patient.
- Then the procedure for setting the exact coordinates of the tumor. For this purpose, special tomographs are used: high-field magnetic resonance and multispiral computer. The gamma rays emitted by the device focus on the pathological point, fixing its location. The permissible error in this case is not more than one millimeter.
- Based on the data obtained, a computer plan for the upcoming treatment is being developed. The preparatory work takes about two hours and is carried out with the joint participation of a medical physicist and a neurosurgeon. If necessary, a radiation oncologist is included in the group. The patient should rest at this time.
- Then a gamma knife comes into effect, treatment with it takes about an hour. In complex cases, the duration of the session increases. During treatment, the patient is conscious and does not feel any inconvenience. If necessary, during the treatment process, short breaks are made to rest the person.
After the end of the radiation procedure, the frame from the patient’s head is removed and a bandage is applied. The patient does not need to stay in the hospital, the same day you can go home.
People who have undergone a treatment procedure on a gamma knife installation have been observed by doctors at the center for a long period. Doctors evaluate the results of the treatment process over time, noting the dynamics of changes in focal lesions. Depending on the complexity of the disease, control examinations are carried out during the year from one to four times.
Possible complications after using a gamma knife
The radiosurgical method, along with other types of treatment, can cause a number of certain complications. One of the most common types may be the appearance of swelling in the tissues of the brain located in the immediate vicinity of the affected area. The cause of this complication is exposure to low doses of gamma radiation. Edema usually does not require additional attention to itself and completely disappears within a month.
Other types of neurological complications on the brain may depend on the type of tumor, location, size, and individual characteristics of the body.
Where is gamma knife treatment carried out?
Today, the successful operation of radiation units in three hundred medical centers around the world has been noted. The largest equipment is observed in the United States of America, England and Japan - about two hundred pieces of equipment. In Russia, only ten years ago there was an opportunity to purchase and install a gamma knife. Burdenko Research Institute of Neurosurgery was the first to open the department of stereotactic radiation. Three to four people receive daily radiosurgical treatment at the facility.
Radiation equipment was also installed in St. Petersburg. It was there that the second compartment, called the Gamma Knife, was opened. Sand village, where the Center for Oncology, Radiosurgery and Stereotactic Radiotherapy is located Sergei Berezin, has already conducted treatment at the installation of more than one and a half thousand patients.
How much is the treatment
The high cost of equipment does not yet make it possible to purchase it in other CIS countries and neighboring countries. Therefore, residents of Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, and the countries of the Transcaucasus turn to Russian centers for help.
Treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery is paid. In most countries, the cost of medical services is quite high. For example, in an English private clinic, a treatment session will cost the patient the equivalent of forty thousand dollars. In the United States, the gamma procedure will cost thirty thousand. The most affordable price in Russian centers: the Moscow Gamma Knife Burdenko and in St. Petersburg. Here, a radiation operation will cost no more than six thousand dollars.