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.
FDA Statement