Gamma Knife Center turns 10

Unknown to some people, there’s a non-surgical way in treating brain tumors that has been available in the country for quite some time.

For 10 years now, the Philippine Gamma Knife Center (PGKC) has treated thousands of patients who have suffered from benign and malignant tumors, vascular disorders, and functional disorders, among others.

It also provides stereotactic procedures to a number of patients who, for one reason or another, choose the non-invasive method. 

The toast of Philippine Gamma Knife, of course, is the Leksell Gamma Knife, a radiosurgical tool that delivers ionizing radiation to the brain to treat various diseases.

It uses a focused dose of radiation to stop or reduce the growth of pathological tissue by its effect on cellular DNA and blood supply.

Radiation is delivered through 201 cross-firing portals surrounding the patient’s head. Each individual beam provides a relatively small dose of radiation. These beams are focused to conform to the size and shape of the target lesion, thus preventing injury to the surrounding tissues.

Developed by Professor Lars Leksell of Karolinska Institute in Sweden in 1967, the Gamma Knife provides patients with another option for the treatment of tumors, vascular malformation, trigeminal neuralgia and other conditions of the brain that were once only managed with open surgery.

But it wasn’t until 1987 when the first Gamma Knife unit was opened in the United States. Since then, a number of other sites have been opened in recognition of the benefit for patients with certain intracranial conditions when Gamma Knife radiotherapy is administered, including the Philippines in 1998.

The Gamma Knife has been in use for more than 30 years in 26 countries having treated more than 180,000 cases worldwide. In the Philippines, the only Leksell Gamma Knife facility can be found at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center on Wilson street in Greenhills, San Juan.

The PGKC medical team includes Dr. Jaime Flor, Dr. Adonis Gascon and Dr. Theodor Vesagas from Cardinal Santos Medical Center; Dr. Daniel Ong Kian Koc from the Chinese General Hospital; Dr. Teodoro Tigno Jr. from the AFP Medical Center; Dr. Camelia J.N. Posuncuy from the Manila Doctors Hospital; Dr. Alfredo Tan from the University of the East-Ramon Magsaysay Medical Center; Dr. Jose Aguilar from the Philippine General Hospital; Dr. Manuel Mariano, Dr. Rhoderick Casis and Dr. Antonio Rafael from the St. Luke’s Medical Center and Capitol Medical Center; and Dr. Ferdinand Florendo of the Dagupan Doctors-Villaflor Memorial Medical Center in Pangasinan.

In the Visayas and Mindanao, the PGKC team is composed of Dr. Wyben Briones and Dr. Amado Layno Jr. from the Cebu Doctors Hospital, Chong Hua Hospital; Dr. Carmelo Canto from the Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod City; and Dr. Alfredo Abundo from the Davao Doctors Hospital. The team is headed by Dr. Eduardo Mercado, clinical director.

The management team of PGKC draws able support in running the daily operations of the center from a competent staff composed of Dr. Jose Herrera, managing director; Dr. Monserrat Velasquez, center administrator; Mario Bumatay, assistant administrator; Mildred Garcia, head accountant; Mary Ann Espeleta, accounting/marketing officer; nurse Mel-Ross Caleda; Eliseo de la Cruz, radiation and health officer; and Rogelio de Vera and Bernard de Guzman, messenger/center orderly.

For more information on the Leksell Gamma Knife treatment, visit the PGKC office at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center compound or call 725-9254, 723-7575 or 726-0776.