|2008-06-24|  Dr. Michael K. Landi, a Neurosurgeon from the Brain and Spine Center, and Dhirin Shah, MD from Radiation Oncology Group recently performed Roswell’s Parks two thousandth Gamma Knife procedure.

The “Knife” in Gamma Knife radiosurgery is not really a knife, but rather a sophisticated technology that delivers a focused beam of gamma radiation. The Gamma Knife procedure treats brain lesions/tumors with enough radiation to destroy them even in the most critical, difficult-to-access areas of the brain without delivering significant radiation doses to healthy normal brain tissue. The Gamma Knife is faster and more precise than other radiosurgical tools that are currently available. This procedure does not require the surgeon to make an incision and thus recuperation is almost immediate. Gamma Knife radiosurgery has replaced open brain surgery for many conditions and has helped thousands of people avoid brain surgery.

Gamma knife radiosurgery is an outpatient procedure that allows patients to go home after just a few hours. Only a single treatment is usually needed and the procedure typically takes anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours. Unlike an invasive surgery, Gamma Knife patients can usually return to their normal routine within a day of the procedure.

The radiation from this procedure alters the DNA of tumor cells so that they stop growing. Some tumors shrink gradually and eventually disappear while others simply grow no further. The effectiveness of the treatment is monitored by MRI scans at regular intervals.

For more information regarding the Gamma Knife procedure and other minimally invasive surgical procedures and treatments available, please call our headquarters office in Williamsville at (716) 631-3555.

The Brain and Spine Center provides a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to patient care. Our dedicated physicians and supportive practitioners work together to develop a proper plan of treatment and/or procedures for the specific needs of the patient. The goal is to restore function and to improve the quality of life.