Contact:
Ellen C. McKenna
434-982-4490
ecm6n@virginia.edu
Staunton Man Is Among First Patients in US
To Undergo Radiosurgery with Newest Generation Gamma Knife
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (February 19, 2008) - Leroy Mayz, a retired plumbing contractor from Staunton, Virginia, is a passionate racquetball player who has returned to the court, thanks to brain surgery performed without a scalpel by the newest generation Gamma Knife at the University of Virginia Health System.
Mayz, a trim and fit-looking 69 year-old, was recently sidelined with a mystery ailment involving his tongue. "All of a sudden, I had trouble talking," he recalls. His slurred speech indicated he may have had a stroke, but medical tests ruled out that possibility.
Ultimately, doctors discovered Mayz had a developed a tumor on a nerve that controls tongue movements and swallowing functions. Although small, the tumor was in a precarious location, close to his brainstem and upper cervical spine. Avoiding damage to these areas was a major consideration and challenge in determining how to treat the tumor.
A referral to UVA placed Mayz under the care of neurosurgeon Dr. Jason Sheehan, of the Lars Leskell Center for Gamma Knife Radiosurgery. The Leskell Center is one of the first facilities in the United States equipped with the latest generation of Gamma Knife - the Perfexion - which has unmatched accuracy and precision.
During Gamma Knife surgery, neurosurgeons treat problems inside the brain without cutting open the skull. They use a single dose of radiation so precisely targeted that nearby normal brain tissue is preserved. "This approach offers many benefits," says Dr. Sheehan. "Since we do not use a scalpel, patients have no risk of hemorrhage, minimal chance of infection, and an excellent likelihood of success."
According to Dr. Sheehan, the Perfexion has become the gold standard of radiosurgery equipment and did what no other device could do in treating Mayz - it delivered the most "biologically effective and conformal" dose of radiation possible. "No other radiosurgical or radiation therapy device could have offered such a favorable benefit-to-risk profile," he adds. "Other treatment options - a craniotomy and tumor resection - would have been far more dangerous and required weeks of inpatient recovery and rehabilitation."
Mayz went home the same day as his surgery and returned to the racquetball court within several weeks. Now able to speak normally again, he will return to UVA for a follow-up visit in six months. "We caught Mr. Mayz's tumor early and expect him to do very well," says Dr. Sheehan.
About the Lars Leskell Center for Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
UVA's Gamma Knife team of physicians is one of the most successful and experienced in the world. Recognized globally as pioneers and leaders in intracranial radiosurgery, the physicians have treated patients from around the world and developed new treatment algorithms for minimally invasive brain surgery. In addition to offering the nation's only accredited advanced radiosurgical training course for physicians, the UVA Leskell Center staff has published papers in many peer-reviewed journals, performed clinical and laboratory research, lectured worldwide and organized symposia that have drawn international participants. In the months ahead, the staff will explore additional indications for the new Perfexion.
Contact:
Ellen C. McKenna
434-982-4490
ecm6n@virginia.edu
Background Information:
UVA's Lars Leskell Center for Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
The Gamma Knife enables neurosurgeons to treat problems inside the brain without cutting open the skull. They use a single dose of radiation to control or eliminate tumors and other lesions while minimizing the impact on nearby normal brain tissue.
The Gamma Knife is so named because it achieves its effect using gamma rays that are a byproduct of Cobalt 60 radioactive decay. It consists of a series of Cobalt 60 sources arranged in a geometric configuration that focus gamma rays at a single precise point. While individual gamma rays cause minimal biological damage, when beams converge at the focus point, they deliver an intense dose of radiation to the target area. Targeting accuracy is guaranteed through the use of a mechanical guidance device known as a stereotactic frame. This ability to precisely deliver the required dose of radiation, combined with innovations in three-dimensional imaging and computer-aided treatment planning, are what make the Gamma Knife such a powerful neurosurgical tool.
The Gamma Knife can reach tissue that is inaccessible or prohibitive for open brain surgery or conventional radiation therapy. "The Gamma Knife can treat areas near critical structures like the brainstem, optic pathways and facial nerves," notes David J. Schlesinger, PhD, a biomedical engineer and primary dosimetrist at the University of Virginia's Lars Leskell Center for Gamma Knife Radiosurgery.
The Gamma Knife is effective in treating tumors that arise in or spread to the brain. This includes brain tumors like acoustic and trigeminal neuromas, meningiomas, low grade astrocytomas and metastatic tumors. It is also used to treat blood vessel defects (arterio-venous malformations, or AVMs) and functional problems such as trigeminal neuralgia and Parkinson disease.
With the new Gamma Knife Perfexion, procedures are faster and more comfortable for patients because the system automatically performs treatment tasks once done manually. It enables physicians to safely and effectively radiate multiple lesions in different parts of the brain in a single session. It can also simultaneously deliver beams of different sizes, a capability that opens new possibilities for shaping the radiation dose. The Perfexion has the potential to treat tumors outside the brain to the level of the lower neck. However, this will require new innovations in patient fixation and dosimetry to become reality.
For more information about UVA's Lars Leskell Gamma Knife Center, log on to http://www.uvagammaknife.com/.
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