Gamma Knife

We got to the hospital at 6:30 this morning for Collin's Gamma Knife procedure. He was checked in, we signed another consent form, and by 7:15 we were down in radiology for his MRI. Collin was very content watching a favorite movie on the iPad until he was put to sleep. The anesthesiologist was very kind and listened to my input about what works best for putting Collin to sleep. Collin fights the mask, so we've found that taking the mask off and just holding the hose under his nose works better. The gas has a distinct smell, so this time he used some "laughing gas" first to relax Collin, and then switched to the other gas when the smell wouldn't bother Collin. After that, the mask can be put on without traumatizing him. 



Once he was asleep, his port was accessed so the Propofol (anesthetic) could be administered, he had a quick high resolution MRI of his brain, and then they attached a frame to Collin's head that was held in place by four pins. Then he was brought back up to the Gamma Knife clinic, where they put a clear helmet over the frame, and used it to take measurements needed to program the Gamma Knife machine. After about 15 minutes of entering and verifying data in the Gamma Knife machine, Collin was wheeled into the Gamma Knife room, which is completely encased in two feet of lead. They loaded Collin into the machine, and the frame around his head was inserted into a large metal helmet with holes in it. There was a camera positioned on the machine that allowed the procedure to be monitored in the room outside the Gamma Knife room. Once everything was exactly in place, we all left the room and the lead door was closed. 





The physicist, radiation oncologist, anesthesiologist, and nurse watched and monitored the procedure on computers outside the lead room. The procedure itself only took about 15 minutes. 201 beams of radiation were put through Collin's head at all different angles so they intersected in the area where the tumor was, to hopefully destroy any microscopic cancer cells that may have been left in the tumor bed. When we had the consultation with the neurosurgeon before Christmas, he said that if they saw any other new tumors on the MRI that they would radiate them too. Thankfully, no new tumors were seen!

After the Gamma Knife procedure was complete, they took Collin out of the machine, and removed the frame from his head. He has four pin holes in his scalp where the frame was attached that are just covered with Band-Aids. One of the four pins went into his skull, so he had a small amount of CSF leaking out. The neurosurgeon put a dissolvable stitch in place to close the hole, and Collin's head is wrapped in a bandage to keep pressure on the hole. Collin woke up quickly and happily, and was trying to sit up right away. He ate some crackers and drank some juice without throwing up, and we were allowed to bring him home around noon. We have to monitor the CSF leak closely, but he really has no restrictions. Kids will self limit, which means they'll do what they feel like doing (whereas adults tend to do more than they should).  Collin doesn't seem to be in any pain, and is eating a late lunch as I type this. If his head wasn't wrapped in a bandage, you'd never know he had anything done this morning!