A Return to Quality of Life
from BestHealth, November 2003
A slow-growing, benign tumor called an acoustic neuroma was making Mary Ann Brinkman, 71, dizzy and off-balance. When she closed her eyes or lay down, the room would spin. She couldn’t see in the dark. She fell frequently, could no longer safely enjoy favorite activities such as gardening or theater, and was losing her sense of confidence and independence.
When her doctors at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center told her she was a candidate for Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery, Brinkman was ready to try anything to restore her quality of life.
People with brain tumors once considered inoperable or inaccessible, blood vessel abnormalities and functional disorders such as trigeminal neuralgia have found hope for cure and improved quality of life through Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS).
The Gamma Knife is not, in fact, a knife: it is a “bloodless” — non-invasive — method of delivering an ultra-precise dose of radiation to destroy targeted tissue.
“This is one of the most exciting and potentially beneficial technologies available for patients with benign or malignant brain lesions, many of which are inoperable,” says radiation oncologist Edward Shaw, M.D., who co-chairs the Gamma Knife Center with neurosurgeon Stephen Tatter, M.D., Ph.D.
“The procedure itself seemed so simple it’s hard to believe it would shrink the tumor,” said Brinkman, of Salisbury, N.C. “There was no pain, no noise, no side effects, no illness from surgery. I thought having the headgear put on would be frightening, but it didn’t hurt a bit, and they don’t shave your head. The whole procedure took about 45 minutes. I found there was nothing to be afraid of.”
About six weeks after her Gamma Knife procedure, the sense of motion caused by her tumor stopped. An MRI confirmed that the tumor was shrinking.
“The next thing I knew I could get out and garden, and, within a few months, my night vision had returned,” said Brinkman.
“I couldn’t have hoped for a procedure to be this painless, or this effective, or for the doctors to be so wonderful. I have been able to reclaim my life—it’s a wonderful thing! I’m out and ‘doing’ again thanks to the Gamma Knife.”
“Knifeless” Surgery
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem is home to North Carolina’s only Gamma Knife. This state-of-the-art techno-logy aims 201 “pencil beams” of radiation with extreme precision at the treatment target, avoiding damage to surrounding tissue. Gamma Knife is often the preferred treatment for conditions such as:
• Acoustic neuromas
• Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVM)
• Benign brain tumors
• Malignant brain tumors
• Malignant skull base tumors
• Essential tremor
• Trigeminal neuralgia (facial pain)