„The experience gained from 2000 radiosurgical operations allows for even more precise treatment selection for patients and helps even in the most complex cases. We are proud that world-class radiosurgical treatment is now available to patients in Lithuania,“ says Dr. Andrius Radžiūnas, Head of the Functional Neurosurgery Sector at the Neurosurgery Clinic of Kaunas Clinics.
The Gamma Knife is a non-invasive stereotactic radiosurgery method used to treat various brain diseases and some head tumors. Although the word “knife” is used in the name, no knife is used during the procedure – gamma rays from cobalt sources are directed at the disease focus, intersecting precisely at the target and maximally protecting the surrounding healthy tissues. Due to this precision, many patients can avoid open brain surgery, reduce the risk of complications, and most often leave for home the day after the procedure and can return to normal life faster.
According to Dr. A. Radžiūnas, 2000 performed operations are already considered a mature indicator reflecting the center’s experience on a European scale.
„Over these years, we have grown not only quantitatively. We have gained experience treating increasingly complex cases, expanded the range of diseases treated, and today we can offer patients one of the most advanced radiosurgical treatment methods. Our uniqueness is not only in treating brain tumors or vascular intracranial pathology. The Gamma Knife at our center is used not only for patients with Parkinson’s disease or essential tremor but also for those suffering from chronic pain and certain complex psychiatric disorders,“ says Dr. A. Radžiūnas.
The doctor adds that the center’s specialists, working closely with the Eye Diseases Clinic of Kaunas Clinics, also treat eye tumors – there are not many such centers worldwide, so when presenting their experience at international events, they often receive great interest from colleagues.
Most often, patients treated with the Gamma Knife suffer from brain metastases, but this method is also used to treat benign brain tumors, vascular diseases, acoustic neuromas, eye tumors, and certain functional neurological disorders. At Kaunas Clinics, radiosurgical treatment is adapted for patients of all ages – the youngest was only two years old, the oldest nearly one hundred.
„I remember a young woman for whom we treated more than 60 brain metastases. At that time, the disease prognosis was very unfavorable, but today, four years later, she works, lives a full life, and there are no new metastases. Such cases remind us of the great importance that a precisely selected treatment method can have for the patient. Equally pleasing are patients who, due to tremor, manage to regain daily skills after treatment – to hold a cup again, sign, or eat independently. Sometimes, these seemingly simple things mean the greatest change for a person,“ says Dr. A. Radžiūnas.
According to him, patients enter the Gamma Knife center only after their condition is evaluated by specialists from various fields.
„The patient’s journey begins at the family doctor’s office. Depending on the disease, the patient is referred to a specialist consultation, and the decision on Gamma Knife treatment is made by a multidisciplinary team of specialists who individually assess whether this treatment method is the most suitable for the patient,“ explains the doctor.
Over seven years of operation, the Gamma Knife Center at Kaunas Clinics has become an important partner of the international community. The center’s specialists regularly train at foreign clinics, present their experience at international congresses, and colleagues from other countries come to Kaunas to learn. Today, the center employs a multidisciplinary team of neurosurgeons, radiotherapists, medical physicists, and radiology technologists, ensuring the highest level of radiosurgical treatment for patients in Lithuania and the entire Baltic region.
