KARACHI: One of the most advanced forms of radiation therapy — Gamma Knife — that uses multiple focused beams of high dose radiation to treat lesions in the brain has been installed and inaugurated at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), Ojha campus.

It is the first time that this facility is introduced in a public-sector hospital in the country for free treatment of patients, said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah while inaugurating the facility on the Ojha campus.

“This is a very expensive treatment and each procedure/ treatment costs Rs250,000 and around 500 procedures are adopted in a year, therefore the provincial government would bear its entire cost and the patients’ treatment would be made totally free,” he added.

Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, parliamentary secretary on health Qasim Siraj Soomro, health secretary Dr Kazim Jatoi, Vice Chancellor of Dow University Prof Saeed Qureshi and others were present on the occasion.

Although CyberKnife, which is installed at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, is a more recent invention than Gamma Knife and considered to be more comfortable for patients, the Gamma Knife radiosurgery is typically done in a fewer sessions and stated to be designed specifically for brain, according to experts.

500 patients will receive the treatment every year

The chief minister said that he had been told that there were more than 400 units installed worldwide, and this was the first Gamma Knife installed in the public sector in Pakistan which was something to be proud of.

“We have established some remarkable facilities in health sector such as Cyber Knife at JPMC, Liver Transplantation Institute at Gambat and Gamma Knife at the Dow university hospital,” he said.

“We will keep serving the people of Sindh without considering any criticism of opposition parties,” he vowed.

The CM said it was the performance of the PPP government in Sindh that the people gave them more votes and seats in every election.

“I don’t care what our opponents are propagating — we believe in service to the people of the province and upgrading the life of poor people,” he said.

Talking about the briefing given to him about the newly established facility, Mr Shah said that Gamma Knife radiosurgery was a very precise form of radiation therapy that focused intense beams of gamma rays with pinpoint accuracy to treat lesions in the brain.

Various uses

“Gamma Knife radiosurgery is called ‘surgery’ because its outcome is similar to that of a surgical procedure,” he said.

“It may be noted that Gamma Knife radiosurgery can be effective in treating tumours, blood vessel malformations and nerve conditions.

“The Gamma Knife radiosurgery works by damaging or destroying the DNA of tumour cells so that these cells cannot reproduce or grow. Over the time, the brain tumour shrinks.”

The CM said that the Gamma Knife Centre was home to the Leksell Gamma Knife Icon, “the latest Gamma Knife system”.

This stationary unit enables our neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists to provide world-class care, he said and added Leksell Gamma Knife Icon was designed specifically for treating lesions in the brain and has the “greatest precision and accuracy of any radiosurgery system to date”.

Mr Shah said that he had been told that Gamma Knife was painless, bloodless and day care treatment.

“It is used to treat certain conditions of the brain, many of which can only be treated by open surgery, if this facility is not available.”

Brain conditions treatment

At the Gamma Knife Centre, expert neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists will treat brain conditions such as primary brain tumours, in particular, acoustic neuroma/vestibular schwannoma, pituitary tumour, craniopharyngioma, glioma, meningioma, hemangioblastoma, glomus jugulare tumour and additionally: chordoma, paediatric brain tumours, arteriovenous malformation, trigeminal neuralgia, essential tremor, epilepsy and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Mr Shah said that he had been told that their facility could treat 500 patients a year and each patient had to bear Rs250,000 cost for the treatment. Therefore, Mr Shah said that he had directed the vice chancellor to carry out treatment of patients for free and the Sindh government would bear all the expenditures.

Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, speaking on the occasion, said that another advantage of the Leksell Gamma Knife Icon was its superior ability to spare healthy brain tissue, as compared with other systems.

Replying to a question about the KCR, the chief minister said it was the need of the city and must be established.

He added that its initial PC-1 was approved and hoped that the federal government would complete it in time.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2021