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First hospital in Monmouth, Ocean counties to provide the treatment

Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch has opened a Gamma Knife Center offering care with the Leksell gamma knife, a high-tech non-invasive brain surgery tool, to treat conditions previously considered inaccessible or inoperable.

The addition of the new technology to Monmouth’s radiosurgery program, makes the medical center a regional leader in the treatment of benign and malignant tumors as well as functional brain disorders. Monmouth is the only hospital in Monmouth and Ocean Counties to offer gamma knife treatment.

The gamma knife is not a knife, but a highly developed system that directs multiple beams of gamma radiation on a targeted abnormality within the brain. The gamma knife’s precision makes it appropriate for both pediatric and adult patients. It also is considered ideal for treating deep-seated brain tumors, functional and neurological disorders and vascular malformations.

Neurosurgeon Ty J. Olson, co-medical director of the Gamma Knife Center, said, “Gamma knife is the gold standard for non-invasive treatment of brain disorders and brain metastases. The accuracy of gamma knife surgery is unmatched and offers the precision of ‘painting’ with a fine brush.

“There is no incision, no blood and is virtually painless,” Olsen said. “Even with microsurgery, patients undergoing a craniotomy can expect to spend several days in the hospital and some time for recovery. Non-invasive gamma knife surgery is completed in a matter of hours. Patients generally go home the same day, resuming normal activity immediately.”

Over the past few decades, Gamma Knife has become the most trusted radiosurgery product in the world, with more than 40,000 people treated every year. There are more than 200 Gamma Knives in operation around the world, but only four in New Jersey.

The opening of the Gamma Knife Center, in conjunction with the David S. Zocchi Brain Tumor Center at the Leon Hess Cancer Center, makes Monmouth Medical Center a leader in treating modern benign and cancer treatments. With the opening of the brain tumor center, Monmouth became the first hospital in central and southern New Jersey providing a full spectrum of comprehensive services to treat benign and malignant tumors originating in the brain and spinal cord as well as neurological complications of metastatic cancer.

To learn more about the Gamma Knife Center at Monmouth Medical Center, call visit www.monmouthgammaknife.com.

—TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM