Los Robles receives new high-tech equipment

The first installation of a Gamma Knife machine between Los Angeles and San Francisco took place April 2 at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks.

The equipment gives local residents the most advanced brain tumor treatment available.

The Leksell Gamma Knife is the latest generation in noninva-sive treatment of benign and malignant brain tumors, vascular malformations and other functional disorders located in the critical areas of the brain that were previously considered inoperable or inaccessible.

In many cases, it’s impossible to surgically treat tumors that are deep-seated or situated close to sensitive parts of the brain. But the Gamma Knife, with its 201 highly focused beams of gamma radiation, can offer the precision of surgery without the risks.

While delivering intense doses of radiation to the critical points, the machine’s precision allows for the adjacent tissue to remain relatively unaffected. Patients experience virtually no discomfort or immediate side effects and often return from treatment the same day.

The Gamma Knife services will be provided at the new Robles Hospital Neuroscience Gamma Knife Center at the hospital, 2200 Lynn Road in Thousand Oaks.

Treatments are expected to begin in June.

The center will be directed by two recognized experts in the field of neurosurgical stereotatic radiosurgery, Ron Young, MD and Skip Jacques, MD, who have published extensively and are recognized worldwide as leaders in the field. The center’s staff has performed more than 1,000 procedures with traditional equipment.