HUDDINGE, Sweden, Oct. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — On September 17th 2019 Karolinska University Hospital became the first hospital in the Nordic region to use laser ablation technique in the treatment of a patient with a brain tumor. The patient treated was discharged the day after surgery with only a single stitch covering the drill hole location.
This minimally invasive procedure makes it possible to ablate tumor tissue in areas of the brain not accessible to open surgery, said Neurosurgeons Dr. Margret Jensdottir and Dr. Jiri Bartek at the Neuro Theme Karolinska University Hospital who performed the procedure in collaboration with the Department of Neuroradiology at Karolinska. They both have experience of the procedure through collaboration with Professor Clark Chen, University of Minnesota, USA.
The treatment is minimally invasive, with the neurosurgeon placing a small laser catheter in the target tissue through a 3.2 mm drilled hole in the skull. The laser is then activated, generating heat that ablates the tumor tissue. The treatment is performed under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance, ensuring destruction of tumor tissue while avoiding harm to surrounding normal brain tissue.
The laser ablation system, Visualase has been available in the USA for several years. The system only recently became available in Europe (CE approval in 2018). Karolinska University Hospital is one of the first centers in Europe to acquire the system and the first center in The Nordic region to offer patients laser ablation for brain tumors.
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SOURCE Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset