The Gamma Knife is a revolutionary instrument enabling the treatment of brain lesions without opening the skull, therefore, nowadays, Hospital San Javier’s Gamma Knife Perfexion in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, is a real alternative to conventional neurosurgery treatments.
By using this method, the risk of surgical complications such as hemorrhage or infections is practically inexistent. It is no longer necessary to make any incision or trepanation and, generally, this is performed by applying local anesthesia. A patient’s hospital stay, in most of cases, is no greater than 48 hours, and resuming every-day life is feasible as soon as he/she is discharged from the hospital.
The Gamma Ray scalpel utilizes 201 cobalt-60 ray beams focusing with extreme accuracy on the lesion to be treated, with minimal effects on the surrounding brain tissue. A clinically insignificant dose is administered through every beam penetrating, which means that there is no harm. The spot where the 201 rays converge, however, receives the most concentration of energy thus producing its effects upon the “target” under treatment.
Advantages of Gamma-Knife Radiosurgery:
- Reduced possibility of complications.
- Recovery within a short convalescence period.
- No pain during the procedure.
- A single treatment session.
Currently, the Gamma-Knife Unit, located at the Hospital San Javier facility in Guadalajara, has the most advanced technology in Stereotactic Radiosurgery. It is at the forefront of medical equipment as it uses software to accurately combine tomography, magnetic resonance and angiography imaging to obtain a graphic representation of the lesion (form, size, and location) affecting the patient.
Gamma-Knife Radiosurgery is not an experimental procedure; it is part of the 21st Century avant-garde technology, the results of which can be scientifically demonstrated by referring to different specialty medical journals with international circulation. So far, more than 400,000 patients have been treated worldwide.
At Hospital San Javier, there have been hundreds of procedures performed with the Gamma-Knife Unit, including: arteriovenous malformations, meningioma, neurinoma, metastasis, hypophyseal adenoma, craniopharyngioma, trigeminal neuralgia, and astrocytoma, among others.
