See the new Gamma Knife Webcast with Dr. Barbara Lazio, neurosurgeon, Dr. Hyder Arastu, radiation oncologist, and Helvecio Mota, medical physicist explaining the procedure being performed on a patient, giving an overview of the gamma knife, and answering questions.
The radiation oncologists at East Carolina University, working together with neurosurgeons at Eastern Neurosurgical and Spine Associates, are now able to operate on the brain without making a single incision. The Gamma Knife is a state-of-the-art device that uses targeted radiation rays to treat brain metastases, benign tumors (such as acoustic neuromas, pituitary adenomas, meningiomas, and craniopharyngiomas), arterovenous malformations (AVMs), and a pain disorder known as trigeminal neuralgia.
Patients with benign and malignant brain tumors and selected other abnormalities can stay close to home and receive the most technologically advanced treatment available. The Gamma Knife is operated under the Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center, in a collaborative effort among PCMH, East Carolina University's Brody School of Medicine and private practice physicians from Eastern Neurosurgical and Spine Associates.
The Leksell Gamma Knife 4C, marketed worldwide by Elekta, contains 201 cobalt sources that can yield 4-, 8-, 14- and 18-millimeter (mm) radiation beams to a targeted area of the brain. Because the Gamma Knife uses no moving parts during treatment, neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists can pinpoint a tumor with an accuracy of less than 0.2 mm while sparing healthy tissue surrounding the target.
Adhering to federal and state safety regulations, the hospital built a 2,800-square-foot facility to contain the Gamma Knife and patient preparation rooms. The Gamma Knife itself is housed in a two-foot-thick, 400-square-foot concrete vault. The housing for the Gamma Knife's cobalt-60 sources is five feet in diameter and weighs a staggering 20 tons. The specially designed floor of the chamber is built to support a weight of nearly 40 tons. Much of the Gamma Knife's weight is attributed to the lead shielding doors, which protect both the patient and staff before, during and after treatment. While these numbers are impressive, the actual treatment room is specifically designed to be as comfortable as possible. Music is available for the patient during the actual treatment.
Benefits for the Patient
Before a patient undergoes Gamma Knife surgery, a dedicated team of ECU radiation oncologists and Eastern Neurosurgical neurosurgeons prepare a detailed treatment plan based on comprehensive images of the patient's brain, which can include a magnetic resonance (MRI), computerized tomography (CT) and/or angiogram. This imaging information is used to direct the radiosurgery treatment with sub-millimeter accuracy.
This accuracy is due, in part, to a collimator helmet that focuses the radiation beams on a particular target. Depending on the geometry and location of the lesion or target, physicians use multiple collimator helmets to best localize the radiation dose.
The Gamma Knife option for brain surgery offers many advantages over traditional, invasive brain surgery. Specifically, the cost is much less to the patient, recovery time is notably shorter and less painful, and the results are excellent and well validated over several decades. Furthermore, deep brain lesions that otherwise might not be operable now can be treated with precision.
Services are provided at the Gamma Knife Center of Pitt County Memorial Hospital in conjunction with the Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center.
Gamma Knife Team
Synergy of people, technology and care distinguish our Gamma Knife team. Visionary leadership, skilled physicians, physicists and nursing staff -- all committed to excellence in patient care.
Department of Radiation Oncology
The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
600 Moye Blvd.
Greenville, NC 27834
Phone (252) 744-2900 / Fax (252) 744-2812
