Meeting the Challenge with Gamma Knife

from BestHealth, September 2005

Life has been good to Chip Peraldo of Matthews, N.C. A successful sales manager in the pharmaceutical industry, Peraldo and his wife, Leasa, have enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle.

That’s not to say he hasn’t had his share of challenges. In 1998, Peraldo suffered the worst headache he’d ever had. Originally diagnosed as a migraine, further testing revealed that he had a low grade brain tumor called an atypical meningioma.

He underwent conventional surgery at Duke followed by radiation therapy, and spent three months recovering.

The tumor began growing again and in 2004 reached the point where something needed to be done. Reluctant to go through major surgery again, Peraldo researched other options.

A nurse acquaintance recommended the Gamma Knife Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Peraldo underwent a Gamma Knife procedure in March 2004 and returned home the same day.

While Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery doesn’t work as quickly as conventional surgery, the results can equal or even surpass open-incision surgery—without the associated pain, risk of infection or lengthy recuperation.

A follow-up visit three months later showed the tumor had shrunk 25 percent and the cells in the center of the tumor were dead. By February 2005, neurosurgeon Thomas Ellis, M.D., was able to report that 75–80 percent of the tumor cells were dead.

“It has been a challenging experience dealing with this tumor not once, but twice,” said Peraldo. Although the tumor was benign, it could have been life threatening. “This absolutely changes the way you look at things… it’s like seriously putting your feet on the ground,” Peraldo added. “Leasa and I feel blessed. I could not be more complimentary of everyone at the Medical Center and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Gamma Knife to anyone.”

Gamma Knife Facts

• The Gamma Knife is not a knife at all. It is a device that delivers gamma radiation very precisely to targeted tissue, sparing normal tissue from damage. The multidisciplinary Gamma Knife team—neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists and radiation physicists—perfectly match the radiation dose to the 3-dimensional shape of the lesion. Gamma rays are delivered painlessly through a head-frame attached to the patient’s scalp.

• Gamma Knife typically treats benign and malignant brain tumors, acoustic neuromas, blood vessel malformations in the brain (arteriovenous malformations or AVMs) and functional disorders such as trigeminal neuralgia, which causes intense facial pain.

• Many patients return home shortly after the 4–8 hour procedure, with no risks of infection, bleeding or anesthesia after-effects. Results occur over a period of months.