Home > Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Thank you for your interest in Gamma Knife of Spokane. This technology is
amazing - treating what is a very serious disease or debilitating condition
with a single treatment that allows you to get on with your life the next
day with minimal side effects. If you still have questions after looking
through these, feel free to contact our nurse coordinator, Jill Adams, via
phone at (509) 473-3800 or by clicking
here.
 |
What's my typical day look like with the Gamma Knife treatment?
Day of Treatment
- Patient arrives and is given mild sedation.
- Local anesthesia is applied to the head where the frame will be
affixed.
- A Plexiglas box (for targeting) is affixed to the frame and the
patient goes to MRI, CT or Angiography to get scanned.
- Patient rests while the neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist,
neuro-otologist and the medical physicist use the state-of-the-art
computer to plot and target the radiation (called a treatment plan).
- Once the team approves the plan, the patient is taken into the
Gamma Knife vault and lies down on the table.
- The physicians place the head frame into the Automatic Positioning
System apparatus and the machine is checked and calibrated for the
treatment.
- Upon treatment, the patient's table and affixed head
frame/helmet all move as one into the machine so that just the head
and shoulders enter the apparatus.
- Depending on the extent of the disease and location of the targets,
treatments can range from between 20 minutes and 4 hours during which
the patient feels nothing.
- Patients bring their own CD's and can listen to the music and
talk to their loved ones via intercom during the entire treatment.
- Upon completion of the treatment, the patient is moved out of the
machine and back to the holding room where the head frame is removed.
- Patient then has a light meal and is either released to go home
or may be admitted overnight into the hospital for observation.
Back to questions |
Printer-friendly version of FAQs
|
