Gamma Knife, treatment of a brain tumor in Germany
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Gamma Knife is among the most widely used radiosurgery techniques. Gamma Knife allows removing brain tumors without actual surgery but using the radiation impact. High doses of radiation lead to the tumor’s death. Thanks to the precise guidance of radiation beams, healthy tissues are practically not damaged.
Content
- Benefits of using Gamma Knife
- Steps of the treatment procedure
- German hospitals where to undergo Gamma Knife treatment
- Cost of treatment
- Arrangement of treatment in Germany
Benefits of using Gamma Knife
Surgery is the best way to treat brain tumors. Unfortunately, this cannot always be possible. Tumors can be located deep in the brain tissues. Such location makes it extremely difficult to perform necessary surgical manipulations keeping functionally active brain parts safe. Unlike open surgery, Gamma Knife doesn’t require a craniotomy. The radiosurgery intervention is performed without blood loss.
The main benefits are:
- Post-operative recovery is not needed
- It’s painless
- There is no risk of damage to the functionally active areas of the brain
- Good tolerability to the procedure
- Ability to treat tumors with deep location
- Precise guidance and minimum radiation dose for healthy tissues
This method is used to treat both cancerous and benign neoplasms. Benign formations don’t give metastases, though they do squeeze brain tissues and produce hormones (pituitary adenoma). However, Gamma Knife’s abilities are still restricted. Only small tumors can be removed with its help. Malformations more than 3 cm in size require applying other radiosurgery techniques such as Cyber-knife.
Steps of the treatment procedure
The patient doesn’t feel any pain. Some patients experience a feeling of compression in the head, which doesn’t bring any expressed discomfort and quickly goes away. Steps of the Gamma Knife treatment procedure:
- A stereotactic frame is fixed on the patient's head
- Diagnostic tests are performed (usually CT or MRI, sometimes PET)
- An irradiation plan is developed based on the data obtained. It takes into account the location of the tumor, the proximity of the functionally active brain parts, shape of the tumor, number of neoplasms, position of the head in space, and total dose of radiation.
- The patient is placed on the table.
- The table moves into the apparatus where the tumor is irradiated
The frame is removed from the patient's head after the radiation procedure. The places of its attachment are treated with an antiseptic. Then the patient can go home. Patients usually feel well after the procedure.
German hospitals where to undergo Gamma Knife treatment
There are several clinics and medical centers in Germany where foreign patients can undergo treatment for a brain tumor with the Gamma Knife unit. Among such clinics are:
- Krefeld Gamma Knife Center has the latest equipment in the world for radiosurgery procedures. Perfection, the Gamma Knife unit, is used. It has a high accuracy of direction. It has 192 radiation sources, which allows you to accurately focus the rays, depending on the shape of the tumor.
- Aachen University Hospital. There is a Gamma Knife center founded in 1998. The effectiveness of treatment reaches 90%. Here, most patients after treatment of a tumor with a Gamma Knife have the same life expectancy as after a surgical operation with trepanation of the skull.
- Hannover Gamma Knife Center. Experts in the field of neurosurgery and radiation therapy work here. They will remove the brain tumor up to 3 cm in size in one session. Meningiomas, neurinomas, gliomas, pituitary tumors, and cancer metastases to the brain can be treated at Hannover Gamma Knife Center.
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Cost of treatment
The cost of treatment depends on the diagnosis, the general health condition of the patient, the medical center, and other factors. The average cost of treating brain neoplasms with the Gamma Knife is as follows:
- Intracranial germinoma – €16,450
- Acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma) – € 15,800
- Benign brain tumor – €16,150
- Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) – €16,440
Arrangement of treatment in Germany
The German Gamma Knife Centers carry out radiosurgical treatment according to the individual plan after determining the exact location of the neoplasm, its shape, and connection with the vital brain structures. The high accuracy of examinations with the latest equipment additionally increases the efficiency of treatment. After completing the radiosurgical intervention, the patient can undergo a rehabilitation course to improve the general condition and consolidate the results. German medicine is focused on achieving a high quality of a patient’s life and not only on the formal cure of the pathology. And it manages to achieve significant success in this.
Actually, any patient can undergo Gamma Knife treatment in Germany. To do it, he needs to:
- Find a hospital
- Agree on the details with the hospital administration
- Receive an invitation from its head physician
- Issue all the documents to travel abroad
- Translate medical paperwork into German
- Travel to Germany
- Find a hotel next to the hospital for the accompanying person to stay
- Get to the hospital or a hotel from the airport
- Find an interpreter in Germany for the communication with the hospital personnel and its administration.
- Issue a foreign healthcare insurance
All of this can be taken care of by the Booking Health company. We are experts in medical tourism. You will receive thorough treatment in Germany with our help and not worry about anything except your own health.
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Authors:
The article was edited by medical experts, board certified doctors Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Alexandra Solovey. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article, you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!
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