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The Gamma Knife Center
The Gamma Knife is a safe, non-invasive, technologically advanced device for treating deep-seated brain tumors and AVMs (arteriovenous malformations). With the Gamma Knife, many conditions, including those that were once considered inoperable, can now be treated without incisions and with little or no pain.
At the Center for Radiosurgery at Columbia University Medical Center, one of the largest and most respected medical centers in the nation and a part of The New York Presbyterian Hospital, Gamma Knife treatment is provided as part of a full spectrum of precision radiation therapy techniques.
These therapies (including stereotactic radiosurgery, fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy, and intensity modulated radiation) are supported by a highly trained and experienced staff, who share in the Center for Radiosurgery’s long tradition of developing and employing the most effective new procedures and technologies. The Center for Radiosurgery has the broadest range of resources available to help determine the appropriate treatment.
By welcoming the involvement of both patient and referring physician in the therapeutic process and through close, personal attention to individual patient needs, the Center for Radiosurgery has created a very special environment, dedicated to providing complete supportive care and promoting optimum healing. The center has treated over 300 patients.
HOW THE GAMMA KNIFE WORKS
The Gamma Knife is not a knife, but rather a highly developed treatment system, capable of directing up to 201 beams of gamma radiation to converge, with pinpoint accuracy, on a targeted abnormality within the brain. When concentrated, the rays provide enough radiation to treat the diseased area effectively, while the low intensity of each individual beam ensures the safety of the surrounding healthy brain tissue.
THE PROCEDURE
On the day of treatment, the patient is fitted into a stereotactic headframe, which allows for precise localization of the abnormality throughout the day’s procedures. The patient then undergoes the appropriate imaging method (CT scan, MRI, angiogram), which determines the size and position of the tumor or AVM. With imaging studies completed, the patient has the opportunity to relax; meanwhile, the Gamma Knife team, comprising many specialists, uses the system's computer program to help plan the course of treatment.
The target area of the brain and the appropriate radiation dosage are established in a short period of time. Now ready for the Gamma Knife, the patient lies down with his or her head still secured in the stereotactic frame, which is positioned inside a large metal helmet, called a collimator. The collimator will direct the system’s radiation to the predetermined points in the patient’s brain. Next, the patient slides into the Gamma Knife’s sphere, which contains the source of radiation.
Treatment usually consists of a series of exposures, each lasting approximately 10 minutes. Patients experience little or no discomfort; most are able to go home within a day.
GAMMA KNIFE BENEFITS
With the Gamma Knife, post-treatment complications are greatly reduced, patients’ hospital stays are shortened, and areas of the brain for which other therapies or conventional surgery are ineffective can be successfully treated. The Gamma Knife’s precision and safety make it a highly appropriate choice for both pediatric and adult patients.
These benefits make the Gamma Knife an important addition to the full range of treatment modalities provided by the Center for Radiosurgery.
CONDITIONS SUCCESSFULLY TREATED
The range of diseases effectively treated by the Gamma Knife includes:
- vascular lesions such as arteriovenous malformations (AVMs)
- acoustic neuroma
- meningioma
- pituitary tumors
- pineal tumors
- metastases
- glial and astrocytic tumors
- skull base tumors
- other benign and malignant tumors
- trigeminal neuralgia
- Parkinson’s disease
The list of uses of the Gamma Knife continues to expand, as a result of ongoing research and development.
ADDITIONAL RADIOSURGERY CHOICES
In addition to the Gamma Knife, the Center for Radiosurgery provides two other types of non-invasive precision radiation treatment, each appropriate for particular brain abnormalities. Both employ stereotactic methodology for highly accurate three-dimensional targeting.
LINEAR ACCELERATOR-BASED STEREOTACTIC RADIOSURGERY is suited for larger targets. Linear accelerator technology provides radiation in the form of single highly focused beam applied in multiple sweeps around the brain lesion. This method also permits multiple smaller-dose, or fractionated, stereotactic radiotherapy, which offers advantages for appropriately selected patients.
The 3-D CONFORMAL INTENSITY MODULATED RADIATION THERAPY “IMRT” SYSTEM uses varying beam-intensity modulation technology, enabling the shaping of radiation to correspond precisely to the target site. This technology, which can also be given with fractionation, is favored for larger, irregularly shaped lesions surrounded by healthy tissue that is especially sensitive to radiation.
“Since our first radiosurgical treatment in 1989, we at the Center for Radiosurgery. of Columbia University Medical Center have continuously expanded our technology and experience for the sole goal of improving the health of our patients and the well-being of their families.
Advancements in radiosurgery, such as the Gamma Knife, while impressive and effective, are ultimately the means, and not the end, of our efforts to improve the lives of our patients. Our personal commitment and that of our colleagues at this world-renowned medical center are to be able to provide all the possibilities of modern medicine to help our patients. On their behalf, we remain dedicated to the belief that the quality of the physician-patient relationship defines the excellence of the care we wish to practice.
To the readers of this message, who are most probably interested in treatment for either themselves or those entrusted to their care, we extend a genuine invitation to become acquainted with us and our facilities, and with the kind of healing we are ready to provide.”
Michael B. Sisti, M.D.
Co-Director, The Center for Radiosurgery
Department of Neurological Surgery
Steven Isaacson, M.D.
Co-Director, The Center for Radiosurgery
Department of Radiation Oncology
To learn more about the skilled team of medical professionals at the Center for Radiosurgery, please call 212-305-0927 or 1-877-PH GAMMA (1-877-744-2662).
Columbia University Medical Center is located just south of the George Washington Bridge in northern Manhattan.
The Center for Radiosurgery’s new, state-of-the-art Gamma Knife facility is located within the patient-friendly environment of Babies and Children’s Hospital (Broadway between 165th and 168th Streets) at Columbia University Medical Center. The facility itself has been carefully designed to fully support the Gamma Knife’s medical team and technology while offering patients a pleasant, low-stress, therapeutic environment.
The Center for Radiosurgery at Columbia University Medical Center
622 West 168th Street
New York, NY 10032
1-877-PH GAMMA