Gamma knife surgery is an important alternative treatment option for conventional brain surgery. Since the first gamma knife radiosurgery was recorded in 1968, each year nearly 20,000 patients worldwide have been successfully treated with this innovative surgery. Gamma knife radiosurgery is significantly less invasive than conventional surgery because there is no actual knife used during the procedure. Instead, gamma knife surgery focuses 192 intersecting beams of high-intensity gamma rays onto a single point to perform the surgery. A single beam is not strong enough to damage brain tissue, but when the beams are targeted on a single point, the combined rays are 200 times more powerful than a single beam. This allows the rays to pass harmlessly through healthy brain matter, preventing invasive surgery and allowing Dr. Duma to treat the impaired portion of the brain without traumatizing surrounding tissue.
Gamma Knife Radiosurgery is commonly used to treat:
Gamma knife surgery is a prized treatment form because surgery can be completed in one morning. Typically, patients arrive in pre-op about 6:30 am and are discharged in the afternoon. Because there are no incisions or sutures, patients are able to return to work the following day or fly home on an airplane.
To learn more about gamma knife radio surgery in Newport Beach, call us at 949-642-6787 to schedule an appointment with renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duma.
