The Gamma Knife Improves Treatment of Brain Disorders Essay -- Explora

The Gamma Knife Improves Treatment of Brain Disorders Advanced treatment for brain tumors and brain disorders, the Gamma Knife is a tool being utilized to treat thousands of functional brain disorders every year without the danger involved in invasive procedures. Not many people can say they were up and about the same day after treatment of a brain tumor. This is now possible with the Gamma Knife, a technology utilizing gamma rays to treat brain disorders successfully and with no incision. These requirements are essential when trying to treat the disorders in a sensitive organ as the brain, where millimeters may mean the difference between life or death or brain damage. Developed in 1968 by Swedish neurosurgeon Lars Leksell, the Gamma Knife was not used until many years later when advanced diagnostic methods were developed. With the advent of technology such as the MRI and CT scan, the Gamma Knife's full capabilities are finally being realized. Conditions often treated with the technology are arteriovenus malformations, acoustic neuromas, meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, and brain metastases. The risk of surgical complications is non-existent since the procedure is performed without an incision. It is also almost painless; patients usually opt for just local anesthesia and a mild sedative. The patient's head does not even need to be shaved for the procedure. During invasive procedures, surgeons are forced to actually penetrate the brain and work with MRI and CAT scan pictures to locate tumors and remove them. This is often an inaccurate procedure that may leave portions of the tumor still in the brain and require another operation. Another downside to invasive procedure is that tumo... ...Knife is also cost-effective. With no need for long hospital stays or rehabilitation, the procedure is obviously highly recommended by medical-insurance providers. The Gamma Knife is revolutionizing the treatment of brain disorders. Before, when a cancer spread to the brain, it was considered a terminal illness. Now, a patient is able to walk in and be treated in just a half hour. There have not even been any reported deaths or complications resulting from the procedure. It is being bought for use in many hospitals around the world and may be, in the not too distant future, as common as any other surgical procedure performed today. Bibliography http://www.chw.edu/mha/Gamma/gamma.html http://www.chw.edu/mha/Gamma/Q&A.html http://gammaknife.org/technical.html "Magnetic Resonance Imaging", Encarta. Microsoft Corporation, 1997.