Mayo Clinic Finds Early Success with Laser That (Ablates) Tumors with Heat
Thursday, October 14, 2010
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Physicians at Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus are among the first in the nation to use a technique known as MRI-guided laser ablation to heat up and destroy kidney and liver tumors … the physicians say (it) is potentially beneficial against most tumors in the body — either primary or metastatic — as long as there are only a few in an organ and they are each less than 5 centimeters in size (about 2 inches in diameter). Patients also cannot have a pacemaker or certain metallic implants, since the procedure is done inside an MRI machine.
New surgical technique uses laser energy in brain tumors
Novel approach is minimally invasive and precise 04:20 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 Wendy Rigby / KENS 5
Perez has had one surgery to remove the tumor, but now the cancer has returned. This time, Dr. John Floyd, a U.T. Health Science Center neurosurgeon, is trying something different.
In an operating room at St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital, the doctor secured an anchor in the outside of the skull. Then, using what’s called neuro-navigation for precision, he slid a catheter several inches inside the head. That catheter houses a laser that can zap the cells growing out of control and threatening Perez’ life.
Lester Beck was the first patient to undergo laser brain surgery at MUSC and is just the 30th person in the world to have it done.
Ray Turner, 33, a Medical University of South Carolina neurosurgeon, performed the first laser brain surgery in the hospital’s history, only the 10th performed in the United States and the 30th in the world. “It’s exhilarating,” he said Thursday. “This is what we want to do in medicine, stay on the cutting edge.”
“It’s so much easier on the patient than a conventional procedure”
Posted: Apr 20, 2009 5:59 PM CDT Updated: Apr 28, 2009 11:51 AM CDT
By Carolyn Roy, KSLA News 12
(KSLA) – A neurosurgeon has taken brain surgery for the removal of tumors to a whole new level, finding a way to (ablate) tumors, with much less risk. A … Louisiana woman was the first patient in the U.S. to have the procedure done.
“Lasers used in keyhole surgery in brain” – Agence France-Presse
Paris, France August 29th, 2008 – Visualase technology used successfully in brain tumors, as reported by AFP and the Telegraph (UK).
AFP | Telegraph
Paris hospital hosts pioneering laser brain surgery
Saturday 30 August 2008 – A French team of neurosurgeons claims top have successfully tested a combination of new techniques, including fibre-optic lasers.
Lester Beck was the first patient to undergo laser brain surgery at MUSC and is just the 30th person in the world to have it done.
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