Radiosurgery: The Cooper CyberKnife and Gamma Knife Centers

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Cooper University Hospital offers patients two of the most technologically advanced radiosurgery tools for the treatment of tumors anywhere in the body. These tools, the CyberKnife and the Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion, are the latest technology in the non-invasive treatment of benign and malignant tumors and functional disorders in the brain and in the body. Unlike any other radiosurgery program in the region, Cooper’s CyberKnife and Gamma Knife systems represent complementary radiation-therapy tools that give patients options no other institution in South Jersey or the Delaware Valley can.

Called radiosurgery, treatment with either the Gamma Knife or the CyberKnife combines image-guidance and computer-controlled robotics for a highly effective alternative to open surgery or conventional radiation. Both radiosurgery systems offer patients a painless, non-invasive, out-patient procedure that requires no anesthesia or incisions. Patients typically return home the same day of treatment and resume normal activities after just a few days.

How Radiosurgery Works

Radiosurgery works the same as all other forms of radiation treatment: It distorts the DNA of tumor cells, causing them to lose their ability to reproduce and grow. While radiosurgery does not “remove” tumors or lesions, its effect on the targeted area is so dramatic that the changes are considered “surgical.” The success, safety and sophistication of both the Gamma Knife and the CyberKnife radiosurgery systems expands treatment capabilities for a variety of different medical disorders, including tumors and lesions that, until now, have been considered inoperable or difficult to access.

Administered in a single visit with the Gamma Knife or a series of 3 – 5 visits with the CyberKnife, patients are delivered precision-targeted, high-dose beams of therapeutic radiation to tumors, lesions and select malformations, providing pin-point accuracy to the targeted areas and thereby minimizing any spread of radiation to the surrounding normal tissue.

Radiosurgery Treatment

The Gamma Knife Perfexion is designed exclusively to treat brain tumors, brain abnormalities, functional disorders in the brain and also has the capability of treating tumors in the cervical spine. The Gamma Knife can be especially useful for patients who are not good candidates for traditional open brain surgery due to illness or advanced age.

At Cooper, the CyberKnife is used to treat body tumors, including those located in the head, neck, cervical spine, lung, prostate, liver and pancreas. The CyberKnife may also be used to treat patients who have been previously exposed to the maximum allowable dose of radiation but require further treatment.

Conditions for which the Gamma Knife may be suitable include: Brain Tumors Within the Skull Primary Brain Cancer Tumors Metastatic Brain Cancer Tumors Benign tumors of the meninges Pituitary Adenomas Trigeminal Neuralgia Arteriovenous Malformations Parkinson and Essential Tremors Skull Base Tumors Brainstem Tumors Gliomas Acoustic Neuromas Conditions for which the CyberKnife may be suitable include: Liver Cancer Lung Cancer Pancreatic Cancer Prostate Cancer Spinal Cord Tumors Bone Metastasis Bone Cancer

Uncompromising Radiosurgery Options

Cooper University Hospital is proud to offer patients both the Gamma Knife and the CyberKnife radiosurgery technologies. By offering both systems, Cooper never has to compromise an approach to treatment. Working in collaboration with referring physicians, Cooper’s expert team of clinicians can determine and provide the best possible radiosurgery technique for each patient. No other hospital in the Delaware Valley can do that.

To learn more about CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery and the Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion, click either of the links below to visit the Cooper CyberKnife Center in Mount Laurel, New Jersey and the Cooper Gamma Knife Center in Camden, New Jersey:

For more information about the Cooper CyberKnife and Gamma Knife Centers or to schedule an appointment, please call 1-800-8-COOPER (1-800-826-6737) to speak with a member of our physician referral and information service.