SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Adults and children from around the world receive the newest medical technology and expertise at the Sutter Gamma Knife(R) Radiosurgery Center. Specialists at this center are international leaders in adult and pediatric neurosurgery, including Gamma Knife(R) surgery. The Sutter Gamma Knife(R) Radiosurgery Center offers non- invasive Gamma Knife(R) surgery for children, as well as adults, with life threatening brain diseases.
Gamma Knife(R) surgery delivers precise doses of radiation to targeted brain tissue. The precision of this technique protects the surrounding healthy brain. Gamma Knife(R) surgery is performed quickly and painlessly in a single session. Patients typically return to their routine daily activities within a day or two.
"Using Gamma Knife(R) surgery, we can offer hope to people whose disorders were once considered untreatable," said Sam Ciricillo, M.D., Sutter Neuroscience Institute Medical Director. "That's particularly gratifying when our patients are children."
Miracle for Billy Morris
For the family of Billy Morris, treatment with Gamma Knife(R) Radiosurgery was a life-saving decision. Billy's doctors in Virginia initially thought the seven-month-old had the flu, but when his symptoms worsened, a CT scan revealed a brain lesion. Two years after the lesion was surgically removed, it returned.
Billy's parents were faced with two treatment options: conventional surgery or Gamma Knife(R) radiosurgery. After much research, they chose non-invasive Gamma Knife(R) surgery, at the Sutter Gamma(R) Knife Radiosurgery Center, Sacramento.
"The communications at the Sutter Gamma Knife(R) Center really gave us confidence," said Billy's father, Greg Morris. "The care Billy received was above and beyond anything we had experienced during all of Billy's previous visits to other hospitals. We were thrilled."
Hope for Miguel
The Sutter Gamma Knife(R) Radiosurgery Center offered hope for Miguel, a young boy from Mexico. He fell out of his hammock and slipped into a three-day coma in August 2000. Miguel was diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Through a community effort, Miguel was brought to the U.S., and treated at no charge, at the Sutter Gamma Knife(R) Radiosurgery Center.
In late March 2004, Miguel returned to Sacramento for a post-operative follow-up appointment. His specialists confirmed that the surgery was a success.
Sutter Gamma Knife(R) Radiosurgery Center, at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento was the first neurosurgery center in the world to install the new Leksell Gamma Knife(R) 1.2 software upgrade. This computer software is the newest technology for the most successful radiosurgery treatment in the fight against brain disorders.
Since installing its first Leksell Gamma Knife(R) in 1998, the Sutter Gamma Knife(R) radiosurgery team has treated more than 900 patients. "Our high standards for certification for physicians performing Gamma Knife(R) procedures and stringent clinical review processes ensure patients receive the highest quality of care and follow-up attention," explained Harvey B. Wolkov, M.D., Radiation Oncologist with Radiological Associates.
Gamma Knife(R) surgery is used for a variety of neurological disorders, including AVMs, vestibular schwannomas, meningiomas, pituitary tumors, trigeminal neuralgia and brain metastases. Research is underway on other possible uses of the Leksell Gamma Knife(R), such as treating epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and uveal melanoma.
Located at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, in the Sutter Cancer Center, the Sutter Gamma Knife(R) Radiosurgery Center is a service of Sutter Neuroscience Institute. This state-of-the-art facility provides treatment of brain tumors, blood vessel abnormalities and functional disorders. The program's medical team includes neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists, radiation physicists, neuroradiologists, and specialty trained nurses. For additional information about Sutter Gamma Knife(R) Radiosurgery Center, please call 1-888-287-2270 or visit http://www.suttergammaknife.org/.
CONTACT: Holly Harper, +1-916-454-6825, for Sutter Neuroscience Institute.
Sutter Neuroscience InstituteCONTACT: Holly Harper, +1-916-454-6825, for Sutter NeuroscienceInstitute
Web site: http://www.suttermedicalcenter.org/
