G A M M A K N I F E ® R A D I O S U R G E R Y

G A M M A
K N I F E
®
R A D I O S U R G E R Y
At the intersection
of innovation and medical insight,
patients find the new standard
for excellence in
neurosurgery.
The Miami Neuroscience Center is a new, state-of-the-art
facility designed to house the region’s premier Gamma Knife
surgery program. Led by Dr. Aizik Wolf, one of the world’s foremost
authorities on stereotactic radiosurgery, the Miami Neuroscience
team is internationally recognized for its groundbreaking work
in radiosurgery.
Miami Neuroscience Center
A revolution in care
from one of the nation’s leading
Gamma Knife® programs
Considered the gold standard in neurosurgery, Gamma Knife
is a noninvasive method for treating a variety of neurological
disorders. Gamma Knife is not an actual knife but a sophisticated
system for delivering single, high-dose radiation to an intra-cranial
target. The system focuses multiple gamma rays on a minute
area with sub-millimeter accuracy, while sparing surrounding
tissue. The extreme precision of Gamma Knife makes it the
safest, most effective system for controlling tumors in the brain,
head and neck.
The Miami Neuroscience Center is widely regarded as one of
the most accomplished Gamma Knife programs in the country.
The center’s Gamma Knife team has performed more than
7,000 procedures since 1993, amassing an unparalleled level
of expertise. A results-oriented program with a compassionate
approach to patient care, the Miami Neuroscience Center offers
a unique combination of the latest technologies and the most
experienced hands to guide them.
“Because of its extensive use
and enormous amount of supportive data
generated, the Gamma Knife is still
considered the gold standard”
Gamma Knife is the primary option for treating AVMs,
vestibular schwannomas, meningiomas, pituitary tumors,
trigeminal neuralgia and brain metastases.
- The Journal of Neurosurgery
GAMMA
KNIFE
CYBERKNIFE
_
NOVALIS
_
RADIATION
THERAPY
Compared to other treatment modalities,
Gamma Knife offers several key advantages:
TRILOGY
NONINVASIVE
INCREASED ACCURACY
REDUCED SIDE EFFECTS
VERSATILE TREATMENT OPTIONS
RAPID RECOVERY
SINGLE SESSION
MOST ESTABLISHED MODALITY
DEDICATED NEUROSURGICAL TOOL
AVM
Multiple MetastAsEs
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
NONINVASIVE
Gamma Knife does not require general anesthesia, nor involve
the risks associated with open surgery, such as hemorrhage,
infection, CSF leaks or other morbidities.
INCREASED ACCURACY
A dedicated neurosurgery tool that is accurate to 0.15 mm,
Gamma Knife reaches deep-seated targets in the brain,
cervical spine, head and neck.
REDUCED SIDE EFFECTS
Gamma Knife does not cause cognitive deficits, hair loss,
nausea, fatigue or other side effects associated with
conventional radiation therapy.
VERSATILE TREATMENT OPTIONS
Gamma Knife allows for different beam sizes in unlimited
directions, providing the ability to reach multiple isocenters
in a single session. No other modality offers this level of
versatility.
RAPID RECOVERY
Gamma Knife surgery is painless and takes only a few hours.
Patients return home the same day and resume normal
activities almost immediately.
BEFORE
AFTER
Pituitary Adenoma
BEFORE
AFTER
Acoustic Neurinoma
SINGLE SESSION
Gamma Knife is the only noninvasive method that is always
performed in a single session and does not require treatment
planning prior to procedure day.
MOST ESTABLISHED MODALITY
Gamma Knife has been clinically documented in more
than 2,500 peer-reviewed papers and in every major
neurosurgical journal.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
DEDICATED NEUROSURGICAL TOOL
Gamma Knife is the only system designed specifically to treat
the brain, head and neck.
Before treatment, the Gamma Knife team will discuss the procedure with you,
answer your questions and share details about what to expect. Gamma Knife
surgery does not require cutting or shaving of your hair, nor other intensive
physical preparations.
1
Specially designed for surgery of the brain and cervical spine,
the Leksell Gamma Knife surpasses all other modalities in terms
ESTABLISHING ACCURACY
On the day of your treatment, under mild sedation and local anesthetic, you will
of safety and effectiveness. The system uses 192 intersecting
be fitted with a lightweight stereotactic head frame. Attached by four pins, the
gamma rays of cobalt-60 radiation to selectively destroy brain
frame ensures precise pinpointing of the treatment areas and accurate targeting
1
3 2
tumors and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), and treat
neurological conditions, such as trigeminal neuralgia. The rays are
of Gamma Knife radiation beams.
potent only at their intersection point, so there is no substantial
2
effect on normal tissue outside the target area. Accurate to
With the frame in place, you will undergo advanced imaging studies-such
as MRI, CT scan or angiography-to precisely determine the size, shape and
within 0.15 mm, the Gamma Knife’s extreme precision allows
location of the tumor or AVM, or to locate the trigeminal nerve. During imaging,
accurate delivery of radiation to deep intra-cranial targets that
the team will place a coordinate box on the frame to provide reference points
would be difficult or impossible to reach with other treatment
on the images for the treatment plan.
modalities.
3
The Leksell Gamma Knife
LOCALIZATION OF TARGETS
T H E
P R O C E D U R E
TREATMENT PLANNING
While you rest, the Gamma Knife team will develop your treatment plan using
the imaging results and state-of-the-art Gamma Knife 3-D planning software.
Your treatment will be completely individualized to address your specific medical
condition.
Safe, pain free
and highly effective
4
TREATMENT
To begin treatment, you will lie down on the Gamma Knife treatment table,
and your surgical team will attach the frame to the Gamma Knife Automatic
Positioning System. When the treatment begins, the table will move into
Used in the United States since 1987, Gamma Knife
4
the dome section of the unit. Gamma Knife’s robotic Automatic Positioning
System automatically delivers multiple isocenters to precisely conform to the
provides local control of tumors with a success rate that exceeds
tumor shape, providing complete coverage of the target. Throughout the
90 percent. More than 500,000 patients have successfully
procedure, the neurosurgeon and nursing team will monitor your condition and
undergone Gamma Knife surgery since its inception. Gamma
your comfort, and communicate with you via an audio-video connection. The
Knife can be particularly useful for patients who are not suitable
treatment is silent and pain free. It will last a few minutes to more than an hour,
for standard surgical techniques due to illness or advanced age.
Additionally, Gamma Knife surgery is an effective complement
depending on the size and shape of the target.
to open surgery for recurrent and partially resected tumors,
5
to endovascular embolization for large AVMs and to radiation
Once the treatment concludes, the Gamma Knife team will remove the frame.
therapy for malignant tumors. The procedure is virtually
painless, takes only a few hours and allows the patient to return
home the same day.
RECOVERY AND RETURN TO NORMAL LIFE
Some patients may experience a mild headache or minor swelling at the pin
sites, but most report no discomfort. Most patients return home the same day
and resume normal activities the following day.
The effects of your treatment will occur over time. Radiation stops or slows the
growth of tumors, so the results will be seen over a period of weeks or months.
During this time, your Miami Neuroscience doctor will stay in contact to assess
your progress, which may include follow-up MRI, CT or angiography imaging.
The Miami Neuroscience Center has offered Gamma Knife
surgery for nearly 20 years. It is the nation’s only program to pair a
single neurosurgeon and physicist for that time period, providing
a degree of cohesiveness that no other center can match.
As one of the most experienced Gamma Knife teams in the
nation, Miami Neuroscience Center has led this field since the
inception of the program.
The Miami Neuroscience Center Team
The most experienced hands guiding
the most sophisticated technology
The first to substantially expand the use of radiosurgery
in the management of multiple metastases, a
revolutionary advance that changed the course of
radiosurgery.
One of the first to apply Gamma Knife surgery to the treatment
of larger-sized benign tumors, another groundbreaking advance.
The first program in the United States to provide outpatient
Gamma Knife treatment.
The first Gamma Knife program in Florida.
One of the only neurosurgical programs providing outpatient
awake craniotomy procedures.
Miami Neuroscience Center is committed to a positive
patient experience that adheres to the highest ethical
standards. The center’s professionals are dedicated to helping
patients achieve the best possible outcomes for their individual
Florida’s first Gamma Knife ® Perfexion™ program, and the
only team involved in the development of the most
state-of-the-art Gamma Knife system available.
conditions. This means personalized care and accessibility to the
medical team throughout the process.
The most
experienced hands
guiding the
most sophisticated
technology.
Sammie R. Coy, PhD Physicist
Dr. Coy is the chief physicist for the Miami Neuroscience
Center. He was formerly the chief physicist for the New England
Gamma Knife Center at Rhode Island Hospital. Dr. Coy received
his doctorate degree from Vanderbilt University. Due to his
extensive qualifications, he has been involved in the design and
T H E
T E A M
development of Gamma Knife software. His experience and
exceptional background in computer sciences, mathematics
and physics play a vital role in the Miami Neuroscience Center’s
Gamma Knife treatment planning.
Aizik L. Wolf, MD Medical Director
Dr. Wolf has performed more than 7,000 Gamma Knife
Steven J. DePrima, MD
Neuroradiology & Neurointerventional Surgery
treatments, has authored more than 90 scientific publications
and travels worldwide to lecture on Gamma Knife and minimally
invasive neurosurgery.
Dr. DePrima earned his medical degree from Emory University
Dr. Wolf was formerly the chief of epilepsy, Gamma Knife
School of Medicine in Atlanta. He completed fellowships in
and skull base surgery at the University of Maryland, as well
neuroradiology and interventional neuroradiology at the University
as an assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery. He
of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, where he also
graduated cum laude from Yale Medical School and trained at
served as assistant professor of radiology in the section of
the University of Minnesota Hospitals. He completed his Gamma
neuroradiology. Dr. DePrima is presently chief of neuroradiology
Knife radiosurgery training with Dr. Christer Lindquist at Brown
and neurointerventional surgery at the Miami Neuroscience
University.
Center.
Located within the Larkin Community Hospital campus in
South Miami, the Miami Neuroscience Center was customdesigned with patient comfort as a priority. The center features
the most advanced imaging tools, including MRI and PET CT, as
well as Gamma Knife® Perfexion™, the latest-generation Gamma
Knife that sets a new standard for accuracy and efficacy.
GRANADA BLVD.
To Airport (approx 11 mi)
Larkin Community Hospital is a 146-bed general-surgicalpsychiatric and teaching hospital that combines state-of-the-art
facilities with the convenience of a community hospital. Serving
the healthcare needs of the South Miami community for more than
40 years, Larkin Community Hospital maintains a strong tradition
of personalized attention. As part of the hospital’s continuing
pursuit of excellence, it is delighted to offer neurosurgical services
from some of the nation’s leading professionals.
(SW 57th Ave)
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SUNSET DRIVE (SW 72nd St)
Miami Neuroscience Center
6129 SW 70th St., South Miami, FL 33143
Tel 786.871.6800 Fax 786.871.6801 Toll Free 855.524.2273
email: [email protected]
web: miamineurosciencecenter.com
International Patients Each year patients travel from
Latin America and the Caribbean to the Miami Neuroscience
Center. Our longstanding relationships with international
physicians, medical associations and hospitals makes the
Miami Neuroscience Center the center of choice for international patients seeking the best neurosurgical care in
the region. Our international representatives provide special
services - coordination of appointments, assistance with
travel, transportation and hotel accommodations.
To contact our international department, call:
Tel 786.871.6820 Fax 786.871.6822