ABC Health for ruber international hospital
Gamma Knife ICON stereotactic radiosurgery for benign tumors such as meningiomas or neurinomas achieves a control probability of over 90%. In brain metastases, the probability of local control is 85% of treated cases
Hospital Ruber Internacional maintains its commitment to stereotaxic radiosurgery, initiated in 1993 when it installed the first Gamma Knife. Since then, more than 8,000 patients have benefited.
The latest generation unit, called «Gamma Knife ICON», whose main evolution is that it incorporates a scanner, which allows studies of the patient during treatment, increases the indications and gives it even more precision in the irradiation of brain lesions.
In recent months the unit also has the new frame Stereotactic Vantage which allows exploration of better quality and more accurate. It is more comfortable for patients and hardly invasive. This is the fifth unit in the world that has begun to use this system with full satisfaction for patients.
As explained by Dr. Roberto Martínez, head of the Functional Neurosurgery Unit and the Gamma Radiosurgery Unit at Hospital Ruber Internacional, “with the scanner included in Gamma Knife ICON in some cases it will suffice to place the patient in an immobilization mask. With the previous model, a stereotaxic frame had to be installed on the patient’s head, under local anesthesia, which allowed both the location of brain targets and the immobilization of the head. Now, with this new system, the reference that will be used in cases where the treatment must be carried out in several sessions is the patient’s own skull. This allows the centering of the same during the treatment, carrying out the precise studies with the scanner included in the machine».
Another advantage of Gamma Knife ICON is the possibility of carrying out treatments in different sessions, which allows treating lesions with greater volume. In these cases, it is necessary to apply up to 3-5 sessions to avoid peripheral toxic radiation of the brain when radiating voluminous lesions. In addition, adds Dr. Martínez, «it allows us to reach precision targets at the level of the cervical spine, increasing indications and the areas where this technique can be applied».
Painless and non-invasive surgery
It is a painless and non-invasive surgery that in most cases is applied in a single session and without general anesthesia. After the procedure, the patient usually leaves the hospital the same day or the day after, which makes this system a very advantageous alternative to open surgery due to its effectiveness, safety and cost. radiosurgery with Gamma Knife allows a perfectly focused irradiation on various points of the brain. “Treatment with this system is very effective in benign brain tumors such as meningiomas or neurinomas, brain metastases and cerebral vascular malformations. It has also proven to be very useful in the treatment of various conditions. painfulproblems of epilepsytremors and in some psychiatric picturess”, says Dr. Roberto Martínez.
Hospital Ruber Internacional has renewed the collaboration agreement with the Swedish company Elekta to instruct specialists from all over the world in Gamma Knife ICON stereotactic radiosurgery
Gamma Knife count with one collimator of 192 cobalt sources centered on a point, using a stereotaxic system that consists of locating different brain targets using Cartesian spatial coordinates (anteroposterior, superior inferior and lateral). This makes it possible to irradiate any point in the brain with submillimeter precision.
According to data accumulated by Dr. Martínez, «the results of the technology Gamma Knife for benign tumors such as meningiomas or neurinomas, it reaches a control probability greater than 90%. In metastases, the probability of local control is 85% of treated cases and in non-tumor pathologies, such as trigeminal neuralgia, it exceeds 75% success. In arteriovenous malformations, the healing results can reach 70%».
Main indications of Gamma Knife ICON
The improvements introduced in the new Gamma Knife ICON system and the Vantage frame have allowed to expand the range of indications in which it has proven its effectiveness. The main ones are the following:
–Benign brain tumors such as neuromas, meningiomas, in addition to the so-called glomus jugulare tumors.
– Brain metastases.
– Cerebral arteriovenous malformations.
– Neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve
-Neuropathic pain and other complex painful conditions.
– Temporal lobe epilepsy.
– Hypothalamic hamartomas.
– Tremor of hereditary origin or secondary to Parkinson’s disease.
-Hemiespasmo facial
– Some psychiatric conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression or anorexia nervosa.
– Overdose of malignant brain tumors, gliomas.
Recently, the Ruber International Hospital has renewed the collaboration agreement with the Swedish company Elekta, valid since June 2020, to instruct specialists from all over the world.