The human ability to create, learn and communicate, the management and externalization of emotions, as well as the preservation of memory, are due exclusively to the existence of a single organ: the brain. The human brain controls and regulates all body functions, it is the most complex and important organ ever created. For this reason, the treatment of brain diseases must be highly precise and completely safe.

γ-Knife radiosurgery treats brain diseases bloodlessly. It is a non-invasive method, which means that in order to remove a lesion or a tumor, the skull is not opened, but high-precision gamma radiation is applied externally, even in areas of the brain that are impossible to access surgically.

Brain surgery without incision

It’s called the γ-Knife, even though no scalpel is used, because it’s extremely accurate. 192 thin beams of gamma radiation are focused on the area of ​​the lesion or tumor. The beams converge to a point, with a precision of a tenth of a millimeter (as thick as a sheet of paper), delivering the radiation to the tumor, with the normal brain remaining intact. The non-invasive nature of the method leads to an immediate return of the patient to everyday life, unlike open craniotomy, which requires several days of hospitalization.

With such precision, the treatment of complex brain diseases is more than 95% successful, without affecting its normal functions. The method is also referred to as stereotactic radiosurgery, having replaced conventional radiation therapy in the treatment of brain metastases.

Indications for γ-Knife Radiosurgery

γ-Knife radiosurgery is used to treat tumors or lesions in functionally critical areas of the brain, such as the speech and motor areas. It is a safer option than craniotomy, in tumors or lesions located deep in the brain, as open surgical access carries risks of serious complications.

It is applied as an alternative to craniotomy, in patients who do not wish to undergo open surgery, or whose general condition does not make it possible. It is now the method of choice for the treatment of brain metastases and the minimal exposure of the normal brain to radiation, allows the repetition of radiosurgery when necessary, which for many patients means avoiding whole-cranial radiation therapy.

Diseases treated

γ-Knife radiosurgery has a multi-year, clinically proven, effectiveness in treating lesions or tumors ranging in size from millimeters to several centimeters without the need for open craniotomy. It treats benign and malignant tumors, vascular diseases, as well as several neurological disorders.

Tumors

Brain metastases
Acoustic neuroma, Meningioma, Pituitary adenoma
Glioma, Astrocytoma, Glioblastoma
Paraganglioma, Central Neurocytoma, Craniopharyngioma
Anaplastic ependymoma, hemangiopericytoma, medulloblastoma
Chordoma, Chondrosarcoma, CNS Lymphoma

Vascular diseases

Arteriovenous malformation (AVM), Cavernous hemangioma (CM)

Functional disorders

Trigeminal neuralgia, Idiopathic tremor, Parkinson’s disease tremor, Epilepsy

Ocular Tumors

Ocular melanoma, orbital haemangioma, optic nerve sheath meningioma

Advantages of γ-Knife radiosurgery

• Painless, non-invasive method, which does not require hospitalization
• The patient returns to his usual activities immediately
• No general anesthesia is administered, there is no risk of bleeding or infection
• Extremely accurate, delivering maximum dose to the target, protecting the brain
• Proven effectiveness and improved patient quality
• Treatment of inoperable tumors and difficult-to-access brain diseases
• Side effects are rare and transient

Specialized for the brain

The γ-Knife is specially designed for absolutely precise treatments of brain diseases, able to successfully treat complex and demanding diseases in hard-to-reach areas of the brain.

Treatment without hospitalization

Radiosurgery is performed in one session, which lasts an average of one hour, without side effects and the patient immediately returns to his activities.

The γ-Knife Brain Radiosurgery Department of the HYGEIA hospital

The Department of Brain Radiosurgery c-Knife of the HYGEIA hospital, the only one in Greece, started its operation in 2004, having hopefully completed twenty years of successful operation. Over 4,000 patients have been treated during this period, with success rates for most diagnoses exceeding 95%.

γ-Knife radiosurgery is the greatest technological innovation in neurosurgery, offering more than 1.5 million patients worldwide the opportunity to have adequate control of their disease without the risks of open surgery.

The widespread worldwide use of the γ-Knife, for the treatment of brain diseases, is due to its excellent accuracy, safety and excellent clinical results. Approximately 90,000 patients are treated worldwide each year and this is due to the advantages it presents over competing techniques:

2-4 times less radiation dose to the normal brain

The γ-Knife protects the normal brain better than other techniques

2-21 times less radiation dose to the body

Compared to the other techniques

3 times more publications of clinical results

Of those that have been published for all the other techniques