What is Gamma Knife?

Gamma Knife Icon is a non-invasive brain surgery method, performed with the precision of one-eighth of a millimeter. It was first employed in Turkey in 1997 by Prof. Dr. Türker Kılıç.

Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Türker Kılıç, founding Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Bahçeşehir University, nearly 12,000 patients have regained their health thanks to the Gamma Knife Icon.

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The most significant factor in the success of Prof. Dr. Türker Kılıç and his team, who have personally treated the highest number of patients in our country, is their ability to use both Gamma Knife and microsurgery.

This method yields successful results in various conditions, including brain tumors, pituitary adenomas, meningiomas, cavernomas, and trigeminal neuralgia.

Gamma Knife in Türkiye

Gamma Knife treatment in Türkiye is a method of brain surgery performed with just a single session of gamma ray application, without any surgery. Since this treatment is completed in one-session, Prof Kılıç’s Gamma Knife Center serves patients across the globe. Being one of the most experienced brain surgeons with this particular treatment, Prof Kilic is still treating patients in Istanbul.

At the BAU Medical Faculty Medical Park Göztepe Hospital Complex Gamma Knife Center, thanks to Prof. Dr. Türker Kılıç and his team, nearly 12,000 people with diagnoses including AVM, Acoustic Neuroma, Glial Tumor, Pituitary Adenoma, Cavernoma, Meningioma, Metastasis, Trigeminal Neuralgia, and others have been successfully treated using these surgical methods.

Gamma Knife and microsurgery are two distinct methods and one cannot substitute the other. In some cases, a combination of these two surgical methods is required for successful treatment. Therefore, it’s crucial that the surgeon who applies Gamma Knife is also experienced in conducting microsurgery.

In 95% of the global Radiation Surgery centers, the people applying Gamma Knife and performing the surgery are different. However, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Türker Kılıç at Istanbul Göztepe Medical Park, these two complementary procedures are carried out by the same surgeons who are experts in both fields.

In this way, scenarios where traditional microsurgery and Gamma Knife can be used together are evaluated holistically, and a treatment plan is developed accordingly.

WHY GAMMA KNIFE?

Advantages Gamma Knife Offers to Patients:

Radiation Surgery, which is done without opening the skull, provides a precise treatment method.
The day after Radiation Surgery, you can resume your work and social life right where you left off.
General anesthesia isn’t used during the treatment, thus eliminating potential associated risks.
Your hospital stay will be just for the day, allowing you to be discharged on the same day.
Since you won’t stay in the hospital for long and can return to work promptly, the overall cost of the treatment to you is reduced.
Both the Gamma Knife procedure and open surgery are performed by the same surgeon in our team.
Having both of these complementary surgical methods executed by the same hand greatly enhances the course of the operation.
The risk of death from the treatment is below 0.1%, the risk of permanent disability due to the treatment is below 2%, and the risk of temporary disability is under 3%.

What is Gamma Knife Treatment?

Gamma Knife is a quick and straightforward treatment method, conducted in a single session using precise Gamma radiation. It can be described as a radiation surgery system used for the treatment of brain and pituitary tumors as well as vascular diseases.

In this treatment method, a large number (192) of low-energy radiation beams are directed with millimetric accuracy to the diseased area within the skull. This ensures that a high amount of energy is precisely applied to the affected area. Gamma Knife operates by inducing genetic and biological changes in the tissue for therapeutic purposes. Because it uses many low-energy radiation beams, the surrounding brain tissue remains unharmed.

Steps of Gamma Knife Treatment

Frame Fixation: The patient’s head is first stabilized using a treatment frame. This is crucial to ensure that the radiation is directed precisely at the right spot for effective treatment. To ensure the patient feels no pain during this procedure, local anesthesia is applied to the points where the frame meets the head.
Imaging: At the imaging stage, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the patient’s head is taken, and if necessary, Angiography images are also captured.
Planning: With the help of specialized software, the doctor then plans the radiation based on these images to target the diseased area.
Treatment: Once the planning is finalized, coordinates are determined, and the frame is positioned accordingly. The procedures are then explained to the patient. The patient is slid into the machine, and the radiation therapy begins. Each beam of radiation is applied to the affected area for the required duration.
Completion: After the radiation application is completed, the patient is removed from the machine and the frame from their head is detached.
Discharge: Throughout the treatment, the patient experiences no pain or discomfort. After necessary recommendations are provided, the patient is discharged.

In Which Diseases is Gamma Knife Used?

Gamma Knife Radiotherapy can be employed to treat both malignant (cancerous) and benign (non-cancerous) brain tumors. This method is particularly effective for conditions such as meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, acoustic neuromas, brain metastases, glial tumors, and many other types of tumors.

Thanks to Gamma Knife technology, many other different conditions can also be treated. Its primary uses include vascular brain diseases (like arteriovenous malformations and cavernomas) and functional brain disorders (such as trigeminal neuralgia, parkinsonism, and epilepsy).

For the Gamma Knife Radiotherapy to be applicable, the diameter of the tumor must be below 35-40 mm. The effects of the treatment can be observed within 2-3 months for malignant tumors, while for vascular diseases, it might take 1-2 years.

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What's the Difference?

Differences Between Gamma Knife and Radiotherapy

Gamma Knife Radiotherapy allows for anatomical selectivity in reaching the tissue. In this surgical method, only the diseased tissues are exposed to gamma radiation, ensuring that surrounding healthy tissues are not damaged. In conventional Radiotherapy Radiation Treatment, not only the targeted tumor but also the surrounding healthy tissues are exposed to radiation, leading to potential damage.

The amount of energy used in a typical 30-session treatment for a regular brain tumor is delivered in just minutes with the Gamma Knife method. As a result, the patient receives treatment in just one session rather than multiple sessions.

The margin of error in anatomical selectivity is as low as 0.2 mm. The Gamma Knife, which is one of the brain surgery methods and a type of operation, gets its name from this high level of anatomical precision.