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TREATMENTIn contrast to what the name suggests, there is no actual knife in the Gamma Knife. Your doctor makes no incisions in your head. Instead 192 precisely focused beams of radiation are directed at your brain lesion. It is called Gamma Knife surgery but is also known as Radiosurgery, or Stereotactical Radiaton Therapy. Our Gamma Knife is still the only one in Hong Kong since its inception in 2005. In 2007 the Brain Centre upgraded to the latest model, the Perfexion. The latter excels in accuracy, versatility, patient comfort and radiation protection. The treatment can be a simple outpatient procedure, but the patient is usually advised to stay in hospital overnight. A typical treatment for an Acoustic Neuroma takes about three hours. The recovery time is very short and you can usually go back to your normal lifestyle in two to three days. You do not feel any pain during the treatment, and you are not required to shave or cut your hair.
Before treatmentThe patient is normally admitted the day before the treatment. After you check into the hospital, our specialist nurse will take care of you and give you a full run down of the entire procedure and what to expect. We believe that psychological preparation is important, and any questions you have regarding Gamma Knife treatment will be addressed. 8:00 a.m. Attaching the head frame.
8:30 a.m. Diagnostic imaging
9:30 a.m. Customized treatment planning
10:30 a.m. The treatment
11:15 a.m. After the treatment
Follow-upThe effects of your Gamma Knife radiosurgery will occur over time. Gamma Knife Radiosurgery is designed to kill the tumor and stop its growth over a period of weeks or months. Our team will stay in contact with you and schedule follow-up visits to monitor your progress. A follow up MRI is usually arranged in 9 months to assess tumor response to treatment.
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The Brain Centre
Canossa Hospital No 1 Old Peak Road Hong Kong T: (852) 2522 2332 F: (852) 2522 2663 |
Our Neurosurgeon, assisted by our nurse, will attach the lightweight stereotactic head frame by four shallow screws under local anaesthesia. The stereotactic head frame is a key component in Gamma Knife surgery. It prevents you from moving during imaging and treatment procedures and allows the doctor to pinpoint the lesion in your brain with extreme accuracy. You might experience some pain during the local anaesthetic injection and screw application, but that is in fact the only pain that might occur during the whole treatment.
After the head frame is in place it is time for imaging, which is done by MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Three-dimensional imaging is required to determine the exact size, shape and position of the lesion in the brain. During this process, a coordinate box is temporarily placed on the head frame to provide precise coordinate points of the target the team will be treating. After imaging, the box will be removed.
Once the diagnostic images have been taken, you will return to your room and served a light meal and you can also rest and spend time with your family if they are present. In the meantime, all your MRI images will be transported to the Gamma Knife planning system and the Gamma Knife team will design a specific treatment plan for you. Every patient´s plan is different and individually designed to address each patient’s specific situation. The process usually takes about an hour.
Once your treatment plan is finished, the actual treatment can begin. You will lay down on the treatment couch and the head frame will be attached to a fixation device at the head of the couch. Once the room is vacated, the door of the machine will open and the couch will move your head into the collimator system and start the treatment. The couch will continue to move from time to time during the entire treatment. You are awake during the whole treatment and will be able to communicate with the team through audio and video, as our team monitor the procedure at all times. The procedure is completely painless and silent, and lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the tumor. If you wish, you can listen to your music of choice.
When your treatment is complete, the head frame will be removed and a bandage will be applied around the head. This is usually removed after one hour. Some patients experience a headache or minor swelling around the pin sites, but most patients report no problems. As mentioned earlier, we recommend that you stay for one more night after the treatment, but if you wish you may go home after a few hours. Either way, you should be able to return to work after 2 to 3 days.