Surgery Without A Knife
Have you or someone you love been diagnosed with a brain tumor? The Gamma Knife is non-invasive brain surgery for inoperable brain tumors including acoustic neuroma, brain mestastases, arteriovenous malformations (AVM), metastatic tumor, trigeminal neuralgia treatment, gliomas, pituitary tumors, and meningiomas.
Gamma Knife is a very precise
and effective instrument that uses radiation to treat the brain and is also called radiosurgery. Using the latest in physics, imaging and computer technology, procedures can be performed in a short time period with unmatched precision. Using this method, doctors are able to focus radiation directly, and very precisely, on the target in the brain without affecting surrounding healthy tissue.
Gamma Knife radiosurgery is one of the most advanced and minimally invasive treatment modalities available to date. This procedure gives new hope to patients with brain tumors and other brain disorders.
Patients avoid risks associated with open surgery, general anesthesia, a long hospital stay and rehabilitation, or even a single incision. Patients are often able to leave the hospital the same day and the procedure is virtually painless.
Our specially-trained, expert physicians have years of experience and are highly respected in their field. A neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist, neuroradiologist and a radiation physicist work together to develop a treatment program tailored for each patient.
This mix of disciplines and skills also increases the degree of accuracy for every procedure, ensuring the highest level of professional expertise and an extraordinary degree of personal care throughout the treatment process. The Gamma Knife team is just one part of the revolutionary services offered at the
Leavey Cancer Center
at Northridge Hospital Medical Center.
Powerful & Precise Revolutionary Tool
Northridge Hospital Medical Center (NHMC) is proud to be the first and only hospital in the San Fernando Valley to open a Gamma Knife Center. The state-of-the-art Gamma Knife Center is conveniently located on the hospital campus and provides a comfortable setting for patients and family. Physicians wishing to refer a patient are encouraged to contact NHMC's Gamma Knife Center at (818) 885-5432.
Patients and physicians at Northridge Hospital discuss the patient experience and the benefits of the Gamma Knife treatment. You can view a video of patients and physicians discussing the patient experience and the benefits of the Gamma Knife treatment. You can also request a copy of the video presentation.
The Gamma Knife is not a knife at all
. It is a technologically advanced stereotactic radiosurgical tool that focuses 201 beams of gamma raditation at the precise lesion or tumor in the brain. Available at less than 100 leading neurosurgical institutions in the nation the Gamma Knife is changing the way neurosurgery is performed. Patients avoid risks associated with standard open surgery, general anesthesia, a long hospital stay and rehabilitation, or even a single incision. Most patients return home the same day and return to their normal active lifestyles.
The success of the gamma Knife is unprecedented
. A team that includes a neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist and physicist use 3D imaging, computer aided and robotic technology. Sophisticated imaging techniques are essential to mapping out treatment areas, so that healthy tissue is spared.
The
Gamma Knife's accuracy
- within less than three-tenths of a millimeter - makes this the technology of choice to safely treat certain disease of the brain. This is especially critical when nearby brain tissue is crucial for normal functioning of the patient.
As the pillar of the Neuroscience Institute at Northridge Hospital, the Gamma Knife Center is a revolution in brain surgery. The Neuroscience Institute encompasses:
If you are a prospective patient, or looking for more information on the Gamma Knife procedure, you please speak to your physician.
