Article Excerpt
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.
Read the rest of this entry »
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.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Former Graduate Student and Current Assistant Professor in the Department of Imaging Physics at UTMDACC, Dr. R. Jason Stafford is highlighted in The Messenger. (Reprinted with permissions from The Messenger, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center)
Thursday, April 2, 2009
By Sarah Petrie
Above, from left: Kamran Ahrar, M.D., and R. Jason Stafford, Ph.D., discuss an upcoming spinal surgery that will use the Visualase technology. They’ll be able to watch the tumor (ablate) in near real time during the procedure. Depending on where the tumor is located, the patient may or may not be awake during the procedure.
History books show that surgeons began removing cancerous tumors as early as the second century. Zoom ahead to 2009, take away the scalpels, scars and side effects that typically accompany surgery, and trade them for a tiny laser beam… It sounds like science fiction, but our researchers and clinicians are among the first in the nation to investigate a new procedure that does just this … and more.
Read the rest of this entry »
Article Excerpt
“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.
Continue article and video
“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.
France24
Houston, Texas October 6, 2009. The U.S. FDA granted 510(k) clearance (K092197) for the PhoTex30 Diode Laser Series, Model 980nm, 810nm, 940nm. The PhoTex30 Diode Laser Series, distributed by Visualase, Inc. received broad clearance for use in surgical applications requiring ablation and coagulation of soft tissue including general surgery, urology, neurosurgery, and other surgical specialties.
Read the rest of this entry »
FDA grants clearance for the Visualase System
Houston, Texas March 1st, 2006 The U.S. FDA granted 510(k) clearance (K053087) for the Visualase Cooled Laser Applicator System. The Visualase Cooled Laser Applicator System, manufactured by BioTex, Inc. and to be distributed by Visualase, Inc. received clearance for marketing with broad use in a number of medical specialties. “This family of products consists of a number of novel advancements in laser applicator systems,” stated Dr. Ashok Gowda, President and CEO of Visualase. “The laser diffusing fiber and cooling catheter system can be used together to allow use of higher laser powers and faster ablation times, while minimizing risk of applicator damage and tissue carbonization,” he added.
FDA Statement