mask clips to the procedure table to hold the patient’s
head in place. Technicians use CT scans, taken prior to
the procedure, to locate the exact position of the tumor.
The procedure can take anywhere from 60 minutes to
two hours, and no anes-
thesia is needed.
Because the linear ac-
celerator emi t s large
amounts of radiation, the
patient is left alone in the
treatment room, which
is surrounded by 7-feet-
thick concrete walls. This
ensures that medical staff
and visitors cannot be
affected by the radiation
that is administered.
The medical team is in
a separate control room
during the procedure.
There, they monitor sev-
eral computer screens
and a l ive video feed
while the patient is being treated. The x-ray radiation is
distributed from the revolving head of the accelerator.
This head stops at multiple points to administer radia-
tion at specifc angles in
predetermined doses.
The radiation is de-
signed to damage the DNA
of the tumor to prevent the
cells from growing and
reproducing.
“The biggest advan-
tage of this procedure is
that patients don’t have
to undergo whole-brain
radiation,” Dr. Kelly said.
By Andrea Kalas-Nagel
HEARING THAT YOU HAVE A BRAIN TUMOR
can be a daunting, scary thing. It can involve multiple
surgeries and possibly chemotherapy if it’s cancerous.
However, thanks to a special medical team at the Koo-
tenai Cancer Center in Post Falls, patients with specifc
types of tumors can be treated with a high dose of radia-
tion from a linear accelerator. This treatment is called
stereotactic neurosurgery.
A T E A M A P P R O A C H
Radiation oncologist Karie-Lynn Kelly, M.D., and neu-
rosurgeon William Ganz, M.D., work together with a
medical physicist, a dosimetrist and radiation therapists
for this treatment to be possible. Drs. Ganz and Kelly
decide on the treatment plan, the dosimetrist calculates
the amount of time it will take for the machine to deliver
the correct dose of radiation, and the physicist constantly
calibrates and checks the machine.
Even though the treatment doesn’t involve making
incisions, Dr. Kelly explained that the effect on the tumor
is similar.
“It’s still called surgery because the changes in the brain
are as if surgery was performed,” she said. “This technol-
ogy is better because it’s an outpatient procedure, and
withmany brain tumors, it only requires one treatment.”
Not every tumor or cancer patient is an ideal candi-
date. Stereotactic neurosurgery is usually used to treat
lesions that are less than 3 centimeters in diameter.
It is most effective on tumors that originate from a
primary cancer and are carried to the brain through
the bloodstream. Treatment with the linear accelerator
is most effective in controlling metastatic brain tumors
caused by renal cancer and melanomas. The tumor is
considered controlledwhen it is prevented fromgrowing.
W H A T T O E X P E C T
The process for treating a brain lesion begins with ftting
a moldable meshlike mask to the patient’s face. This
Zeroing In on Tumors
T H E L I N E A R A C C E L E R A T O R A T T H E K O O T E N A I
C A N C E R C E N T E R I N P O S T F A L L S H A S T U R N E D T U M O R
T R E A T M E N T I N T O A N O U T P A T I E N T P R O C E D U R E
TECHNOLOGY
Karie-Lynn Kelly, M.D.
“Te biggest
advantage of
this procedure
is that patients
don’t have to
undergo whole-
brain radiation.”
—Karie-Lynn Kelly, M.D.,
Kootenai physician
KOO T E NA I
H E A L T H
. OR G
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