Gamma Knife Icon is the sixth generation of Leksell Gamma Knife technology. This technology has been used in neurosurgery for more than 60 years. It is the most accurate, flexible, and safe of the Leksell Gamma Knife family.
Acıbadem Healthcare Group, a leading provider of cancer treatment in Türkiye, has treated more than 11.000 patients with Gamma Knife.
Gamma Knife is a stereotactic radiosurgery technique that treats brain tumors and other brain abnormalities. In Gamma Knife, the targeted tissues receive a very high dose of radiation. Meanwhile, the adjacent brain tissues are exposed to a negligible dose of radiation. This procedure aims to stop the growth of the tumor.
Treatment is planned according to the specific needs of individual patients. This customized process is easy, fast, reliable, and safe. Gamma Knife software helps to guide the gamma rays to the target, meticulously.
The treatment begins by fitting the stereotactic frame to the patient’s head. This is easily done within minutes and requires only local anesthesia. Once the frame has been fitted, an imaging procedure suitable for the patient’s pathology (MRI, CT, or angiography) is performed. These studies create a highly detailed and precise map of the brain.
The procedure is then planned with precision using a special computerized planning program. The treatment is fitted to cover the target with an accuracy of less than a millimeter while protecting the surrounding brain and nerve tissues. A session typically lasts 45–60 minutes, though in some cases, it may take longer. While the treatment is administered, the patient peacefully rests on the treatment couch and listens to music. Following treatment, the frame is removed, and most patients are discharged from the hospital on the same day. Patients can resume their normal routine after the procedure.
Gamma Knife is a painless and bloodless treatment for brain tumors and other brain abnormalities. The advantages of Gamma Knife treatment are as follows:
Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a groundbreaking healthcare technology for brain disorders. It uses high-energy beams to treat brain tumors and other brain diseases. It has changed treatment protocols for many brain tumor types. There are different radiation treatment machines for brain tumors like Cyberknife and MRIdian. However, it is the only technology that is used only for brain tumors. It was created and designed by neurosurgeons. Gamma Knife Icon is the most updated model of this machines. It offers some new advantages for neurosurgeons and patients:
Gamma Knife Icon offers incomparable comfortability for patients when it is compared with neurosurgery operations. There is no need to stay in the hospital, get anesthesia during the treatment, or head shaving before the procedure.
Gamma Knife treatment has six steps: preparation, applying frame or mask, scan, treatment planning, treatment, and recovery. Thanks to CT on Gamma Knife Icon, patients could be scanned when they are in the machine. It provides to split the treatment into multiple days and helps to perform the treatment with a mask.
A session is completed in half a day, and during the procedure, the patient is awake. An expert neurosurgeon performs the treatment by sending beams to the tumor. During the procedure, the patient does not hear any machine sounds. After the treatment, the patient does not need to be hospitalized. The patient observed for a while after the session is completed. Then he/she is discharged. After discharge, the patient does not need to take any additional medicines. If there is a medicine that he/she uses on routine, there is no need to stop it. Treatment is easy and painless. Complications such as bleeding and infection are very rare. The patient can return to his daily life after the session.
Gamma Knife is one of the most valuable treatment options for brain diseases. Some brain tumors which are evaluated as risky and defined as inoperable have a chance to be treated with Gamma Knife. It may be the first choice for some brain tumors like vestibular schwannomas and meningiomas. With the Gamma Knife, these tumors can be completely treated without surgery. Otherwise, in some cases, it is thought to remove the tumor as much as possible and apply Gamma Knife to the remaining tumor. On the other hand, this technology cannot be appropriate for some brain tumors.
Gamma Knife can generally be applied to tumors smaller than 3 cm. Treatment is planned according to the characteristics of the tumor and whether Gamma Knife is beneficial in this tumor type. Except for brain tumors, it is used for different brain diseases like Brain AVM (arteriovenous malformation) and trigeminal neuralgia.
You may undergo Gamma Knife Icon radiosurgery:
Brain tumors which are small, round cells, have well-defined margins, without extensions.