Dr. Ken Berkenstock and Dr. Eddy Garrido prepare a patient for treatment at the Lancaster General Gamma Knife Center.

At first, JoAnn says she felt dizzy whenever she suffered a sinus infection. Nothing she worried about or couldn’t handle.

But after she suffered an injury in a fall, the dizzy spells increased, particularly when she turned her head quickly.

She was concerned her injury was more serious than she first thought, but a CAT scan revealed nothing unusual. Still, at the insistence of her daughter, JoAnn continued to consult with doctors in her search for an answer.

Her persistence paid off. After meeting with an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist and having an MRI performed, JoAnn was diagnosed as having an acoustic neuroma.

In the past, her only option would have been surgery. But now, non-invasive treatment of this condition is available through the Gamma Knife® Center at Lancaster General.

What is acoustic neuroma?

Acoustic neuroma is a non-cancerous tumor that presses on the hearing and balance nerves in the inner ear. Left untreated, the tumor can press on the facial nerves or brain structure, and can lead to hearing loss, prolonged dizziness, paralysis of a facial nerve and life-threatening brain problems.

“The tumor grows from the hearing nerve,” says Eddy Garrido, MD, Lancaster Neuroscience & Spine Associates. “Usually, people go to the doctor after they notice problems with their hearing. Symptoms progress gradually, and left untreated, a person will eventually suffer complete hearing loss.”

Thanks to JoAnn’s diligence, she was diagnosed early, before she experienced any noticeable hearing loss.

Symptoms generally start to occur when the tumor reaches one centimeter in diameter, Dr. Garrido says. A tumor three centimeters or larger will cause pressure on the brain stem, causing more severe symptoms.

Typically, patients will be referred by their doctor to an ENT specialist. Once a diagnosis of acoustic neuroma is confirmed by an MRI, the treatment plan is developed.

While open surgery is an option for severe cases, 95% of patients are candidates for non-invasive Gamma Knife treatment.

Dr. John Gastaldo, Dr. Ken Berkenstock and Dr. Eddy Garrido are members of the Gamma Knife team at Lancaster General.

Gamma Knife radiosurgery uses sophisticated computer guidance software to target 201 tiny beams of ionizing radiation at the tumor. Each individual beam is practically harmless to healthy tissue, but when all beams converge on the tumor, the combined effect has the strength to kill the harmful cells while keeping the surrounding healthy cells intact.

“In 90% of the cases, Gamma Knife successfully controls the tumor and stops the growth,” Dr. Garrido says. “Sometimes it will make the tumor smaller.”

Although this approach cannot restore damage that was already caused, it can prevent further damage from taking place; so the sooner acoustic neuroma is treated, the better the outcome.

Gamma Knife Team

It takes more than an skilled surgeon to use the Gamma Knife. That’s why Lancaster General has a knowledgeable, experienced team that provides high-quality care to each patient.

“The team includes physicists, neurosurgeons, radiologists and nurses,” says Jeffrey Eshleman, MD, of Lancaster Radiology Associates. “I can’t say enough about the amount of skill that our staff has. We have three experienced full-time physicists on staff. That is not the case everywhere.”

Since 1999, the Gamma Knife Center has treated about 125 patients with acoustic neuroma.

“This is a very convenient, safe and effective treatment,” Dr. Eshleman says. “It promotes the maintenance of a high quality of life without sacrificing any long term control that a surgical option may cause. Our patient satisfaction has been extremely high for this procedure.”

Home the Same Day

When it came time for her treatment, there was only one place JoAnn wanted to go… Lancaster General.

“I felt very confident going in, not only with the Gamma Knife technology itself, but with the doctors and staff who worked with me,” she says. “Everyone made me feel at ease.”

The only discomfort she felt was during the initial set-up. “After that, nothing,” JoAnn says. Her medical team pinpointed where the radiation needed to go to hit the tumor. The actual treatment took about a half hour.

Aside from some minor swelling, JoAnn exhibited no problems following the procedure and was able to go home that day.

“I am hopeful that I won’t need the services of Dr. Garrido again,” JoAnn says. “But it’s good to know that he and the Gamma Knife team are here for me and for others who rely on this specialized treatment.

“I’m so grateful that Lancaster General was willing to invest in this technology,” she adds.

For more information related to this story:

• Gamma Knife Center
• Generally Speaking: Gamma Knife and Brain Tumors
• Lancaster General Woman: Trigeminal Neuralgia
• Health Library: Acoustic Neuroma

 

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