Methodist Hospitals’ multidisciplinary brain tumor team is committed to increasing wellbeing and productivity. Our skilled neurologists, neurosurgeons and cancer specialists work together to provide expert medical and surgical care for patients with all types of brain tumors.
Providing in-depth, focused care, our program includes a dedicated operating room and OR staff, dedicated hospital units and nursing staff, and advanced technologies, such as the Gamma Knife Perfexion:
Gamma Knife Center
When the Methodist Hospitals Gamma Knife Center opened in 2003, it was home to Northwest Indiana’s first Gamma Knife. Today, it’s equipped with the Gamma Knife Perfexion – the latest generation of the most advanced radiosurgical technology for the non-invasive treatment of malignant brain tumors and benign brain tumors, vascular malformations and trigeminal neuralgia.
The expanded treatment coverage of this new generation of Gamma Knife increases treatable indications by about 30 percent over previous Gamma Knife models. Additionally, its updated design enhances safety, with up to 100 times less peripheral radiation dose to patients than other technologies.
The Gamma Knife Perfexion at Methodist Hospitals is not merely the only Gamma Knife in Northwest Indiana, it’s the only Gamma Knife between South Bend and Chicago’s northwest suburbs.
Gamma Knife: A Preferred Treatment
Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a form of stereotactic radiosurgery, an advanced form of radiation therapy. Although it sounds like surgery, Gamma Knife radiosurgery is minimally invasive, does not involve any incisions and does not require a hospital stay. It’s preferred by healthcare professionals for extreme accuracy, efficiency and outstanding therapeutic response.
Using advanced diagnostic imaging and three-dimensional planning software, the Gamma Knife Perfexion delivers 192 precisely focused beams of gamma radiation to small targets inside the brain. Delivery of radiation is concentrated into a single, precisely aimed point where all 192 beams converge to treat the diseased tissue while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.
Gamma Knife radiosurgery is most often performed in a single outpatient visit, with patients returning to normal activities within 48 hours. The procedure is bloodless, virtually painless, does not cause hair loss, and allows rapid return to pre-treatment life style. Clinical outcomes are excellent and well-documented.
Who Can Benefit from Gamma Knife Treatments
Gamma Knife Perfexion treatment can be a primary option or used as an adjunct to conventional brain surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or interventional neuroradiology in selected patients. It is especially valuable for patients for whom conventional neurosurgical approaches would be difficult or impossible. Gamma Knife Perfexion treatment is typically performed without general anesthesia. As a result, it may be an effective alternative for patients of advanced age and/or those in poor medical condition to whom anesthesia or conventional surgery might pose significant risks.
Conditions treated at the Methodist Hospitals Gamma Knife Center include:
- Intracranial tumor, also known as brain tumor, including primary brain tumor and secondary brain tumor
- Benign brain tumor, including meningioma, acoustic neuroma and pituitary adenoma
- Malignant brain tumor, such as glioma
- Single metastatic brain tumor and multiple metastatic brain tumor
- Upper cervical spine tumor
- Vascular malformations, including vascular lesions and vascular seizure disorder
- Trigeminal neuralgia, also known as facial pain
More than 35 years of combined Gamma Knife experience. The Methodist Hospitals Gamma Knife Team: Robert T. Woodburn III, MD, Radiation Oncologist; M. Hytham Rifai, MD, Neurosurgeon; Carmen R. Kmety-Stevenson PhD, Medical Physicist; Hayder Jaffer, MD, Neurosurgeon
Referring physicians and prospective patients are invited to call 800-763-8767 for a free consultation.
CLICK HERE to meet the Methodist Physician Group neurology specialists practicing near you.