More than 200,000 patients were treated by Gamma Knife Radiosurgery, somewhere in the world, by the end of 2002. More than 30,000 patients are now treated yearly by Gamma Knife Radiosurgery.

After administering local anesthesia and intravenous sedation, a stereotactic frame is attached to the patient's head. Next the head is imaged using a CT or MRI scanner while the patient wears the stereotactic frame. For vascular malformations, an angiogram is obtained as well. A treatment plan is developed by computer using the brain images. This is done by the coordinated efforts of the neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist and radiation physicist.

The Gamma Knife Perfexion? precisely focuses 192 beams of gamma radiation on a specific target area of the brain, with each beam originating from a slightly different point. Highly sophisticated computer software is used to determine the size, location and shape of the area to be treated. Only at the point where all 192 beams cross is enough radiation delivered to affect the diseased tissue, while sparing surrounding tissue.

This noninvasive technology treats patients with abnormalities that are located within the brain or that are too close to delicate structures and blood vessels (though it is most effective on targets less than four centimeters in size). Almost a third of all the patients treated with the Gamma Knife since 1968 have sought relief from blood vessel problems (i.e. AVMs). Nearly two-thirds were treated for brain tumors, including cancer, glial tumors and rarer types of tumors.

The individual beams of gamma radiation are not strong enough to damage any tissue as they travel through the skull to the treatment site. At the site, the beams join together pecisely to act in the same way a surgical "knife" would to treat the abnormality.

After administering local anesthesia and intravenous sedation, a stereotactic frame is attached to the patient's head. Next the head is imaged using a CT or MRI scanner while the patient wears the stereotactic frame. For vascular malformations, an angiogram is obtained as well. A treatment plan is developed by computer using the brain images. This is done by the coordinated efforts of the neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist and radiation physicist.

It is precise. Its effects on surrounding brain and other critical neural and vascular structures are minimized. It is safe - the design of the Department of Neurosurgery's Gamma Knife unit meets the rigorous standards for safety and efficacy set by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory commission and patients do not face the risks associated with open-skull procedures or general anesthesia. The Gamma Knife Perfexion is also highly effective - its success rate is unprecedented.

Animals are presented for surgery promptly at 7:30 a.m. the morning of surgery at the specified location for that date (see schedule). Surgeries are performed in a 30 foot customized vehicle that has been specially designed to perform quality feline surgeries using all modern equipment.

The Gamma Knife is not actually a knife at all. It is a stereotactic radiosurgical device that non-invasively treats malignant and benign brain tumors, vascular malformations and trigeminal neuralgia in a single patient visit. Patients are treated on an out-patient basis or may require an overnight hospital stay.

Leksell Gamma Knife® is not really a knife at all; rather, it consists of very precisely focused beams of radiation that are directed to the treatment area in the brain.  There is no incision, no blood and virtually no pain.

Dr. Cabler has performed more than a thousand laser surgeries, including hundreds of LASIK procedures. During his 20-year career as an ophthalmologist, he has performed more than 4,000 microsurgical procedures that are even more intricate than LASIK surgery (i.e., cataracts).

Gamma Knife (a registered trademark of Elekta Radiosurgery of Atlanta, GA) Radiosurgery replaces the surgeon's scalpel with a single, high dose of gamma radiation. Like the surgeon's scalpel, the Gamma Knife eradicates the diseased area with a safe and effective approach. The patient wears a lightweight head frame that attaches to a helmet, through which 201 beams of gamma radiation precisely focus at a single target.

Over 70,000 patients worldwide have chosen Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for treatment of benign tumors such as acoustic neuromas, meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, pineal tumors; malignant tumors like metastatic tumors, astrocytomas and glioblastomas. The Gamma Knife has also been used to eradicate arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and treatment protocols are under investigation for certain functional disorders such as epilepsy, chronic pain, trigeminal neuralgia, and Parkinson's disease.

Tumors originating within the brain itself or its coverings: pituitary tumors, acoustic neuromas, certain gliomas and meningiomas, etc. Also specific centers within the brain can be destroyed to treat pain, tremors and other functional disturbances.

Gamma Knife surgery is different from conventional radiation therapy of the brain because it is only directed to the target and spares unnecessary treatment of adjacent, normal brain. It differs because only a one day treatment is required rather than many treatments over several weeks and can be repeated if needed. It can be used in conjunction with conventional surgery as a boost and can be used in previously inoperable cases.

From 1995 to 2004, bariatric surgeries increased from 8,000 to 123,000 nationwide. But in 2005, the number of inpatient surgeries decreased to 116,000. More than 700 patients have gone through San Joaquin Community Hospital's Bariatric Solutions program in its eight-year history. There are a few other doctors offices and smaller centers in Kern County that do these surgery, including Delano Regional Medical Center, but Bariatric Solutions is the largest.

Between my wife and I and our associate, we have performed many thousands of cataract surgeries in our 20+ years as eye surgeons. - Rodger H. Silverstein, M.D.

If a patient is in good health and does not require an overnight stay, we perform the surgery in our outpatient facility - First Hill Surgery Center.

The luminance generated by a physical device is generally not a linear function of the applied signal. A conventional CRT has a power-law response to voltage: luminance produced at the face of the display is approximately proportional to the applied voltage raised to the 2.5 power. The numerical value of the exponent of this power function is colloquially known as gamma. This nonlinearity must be compensated in order to achieve correct reproduction of luminance.

Gamma Knife was first generation-technology developed in Sweden (1956) to treat brain cancer with high-dose radiation instead of a scalpel and saw. However, Gamma Knife cannot be used outside the skull. Gamma Knife systems are used in Marshfield Clinic, Memorial Lutheran Hospital and St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wis., and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Cyberknife is a more recent emerging technology available at 10 to 15 centers throughout the world.

More than 30,000 patients safely undergo Gamma Knife radiosurgery each year. The method has been used worldwide since 1968. Gamma Knife radiosurgery allows patients to quickly return to their normal routines. In most cases, only a single procedure is necessary. Our experienced Pennsylvania Hospital Gamma Knife team provides patients with maximum safety and efficacy.