A 35-year-old man, who was diagnosed with right-sided vestibular schwannoma, was treated by Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) technique, using a linear accelerator, at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH).
According to a press release, SRS was a precise form of therapeutic radiation that can be used to treat very small tumours in the brain, both cancerous and non-cancerous. Tumours that are not amenable for neurosurgical excision are treated by the SRS technique with the help of a linear accelerator using SRS cones. Using this technique, the tumour can be treated accurately without any injury to the adjacent normal tissues, doctors said.
The patient, on being diagnosed with right ear intracanalicular schwannoma, was referred for neurosurgery. But surgery was deferred owing to the small-sized tumours and location, and he was referred for SRS.
“The tumour was very small, measuring not even a centimetre. It was located near important cranial nerves and was not amenable for surgery. In such cases, we usually refer patients to centres that perform SRS. But now, it is available at RGGGH,” said Vijayasree T.N., head of radiation oncology, RGGGH.
Without surgery, the same results were achieved with radiation, she said adding, “As we marked the tumour and planned precise radiation, the normal tissues are intact.”
E. Theranirajan, dean of RGGGH, said this was the first time that STS was done at the hospital. “The patient had a sudden onset of hearing loss. He is recovering well after the procedure,” he said. The procedure was covered under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.
