2023-04-20 16:11:00
A 69-year-old man underwent an innovative procedure to destroy a cancerous tumor deep in the brain by burning it with a laser beam while he was fully awake. He was diagnosed with cancer deep in the brain about a year ago. “I started having small tics, after seeing that they weren’t going away I decided to go and get checked. When the news came that it was a cancerous tumor, it was very hard for me to digest it”
69-year-old Amir Kolban, the first patient in Israel to undergo an innovative procedure to destroy a cancerous tumor deep in the brain by burning it with a laser beam while fully awake. Kolban, a choreographer and artistic director of a dance troupe, was diagnosed with deep brain cancer about a year ago. “I started having small tics, after seeing that they weren’t going away, I decided to go and get checked. When the news came that it was a cancerous tumor, it was very hard for me to digest it. Luckily, I had the dance that made me stay optimistic.”
Kolban was referred to Dr. Ido Strauss, director of the functional neurosurgery unit at the neurosurgical unit in Ichilov. “Amir’s tumor was located deep in the brain in an area close to language and motor areas. When I talked with Amir about the therapeutic options, the therapeutic option of burning the tumor using a laser beam was also brought up. Amir surprised me and asked me: ‘In view of the fact that the tumor is in a critical area, will it be possible to perform this procedure in the city?’ I replied that we have not yet performed this procedure in Israel while awake and I am ready to check the programming of such an operation,” explains Dr. Strauss.
“When Dr. Strauss came back to me with a positive answer to perform the burning of the tumor with a laser, I knew there was no question at all. It was important to me that the motor and cognitive areas were preserved during the procedure and I had to try it because it is the least dangerous and invasive for me,” Kolban emphasizes.
Indeed, two months ago, the procedure was performed for the first time in Israel when Kolban was fully awake throughout the operation.
The laser burn operation, performed uniquely in Israel at the Ichilov Hospital, combines minimally invasive laser technology and an advanced MRI scan that enables real-time control of the size of the burned area in the brain. The treatment process includes in the first stage the implantation of a fine optical fiber precisely in the center of the tumor in an operating room using a special surgical robot through a tiny drilling hole in the skull with a diameter of about 3 mm. In the second stage, which is carried out in the MRI device, the optical fiber is connected to the Visualase laser system for the purpose of performing the burn itself while precisely controlling the increase in temperature in the tumor that leads to its destruction. The uniqueness this time was that the burn itself was performed while the patient was lying awake inside the MRI machine – a fact that made it possible to combine the advantages of laser surgery with continuous neurological monitoring in order to make sure that brain areas adjacent to the burn area that are responsible for critical functions No injuries,” explains Dr. Strauss.
Amir underwent the surgery successfully and was released to his home the very next day. “A week after the surgery I returned to dancing and these days I am working on a new piece together with my band and at the same time I continue to receive immunotherapy treatments that keep the disease in a static state. I am so grateful to the team that managed to get out of the box, dare to try new ways, and do the unbelievable. Thanks to you Today I live a full, happy life and do what I love most – dance and create.”
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