For Immediate Release

June 24, 2005

17-Ton Ball Lowered into Mercy

Oklahoma City — A 17-ton heavily shielded ball will be lowered by crane into Mercy Health Center Saturday morning, after completing the journey from Sweden. Sealed in a vault, the ball, once installed and operational, will allow patients to have brain surgery without any incisions.

The super high-tech treatment option, known as Gamma Knife, delivers 201 precisely focused beams of radiation to destroy malignant and benign brain tumors, malformations in the brain’s blood vessels and trigeminal neuralgia.

“Gamma Knife is the gold standard for brain treatments because it’s the most accurate device available. There’s also no incision, no anesthesia, no risk of bleeding and no risk of infection that goes along with standard brain surgery,” said Dr. Charles Engles, a neurosurgeon at Mercy NeuroScience Institute. “Brain tumors generally require radiation five days a week for three or more weeks, but Gamma Knife is so advanced and precise that one treatment will usually stop the growth of a tumor and sometimes shrink it. When you have hundreds of beams focused on a tumor, it treats the tumor while not damaging surrounding healthy tissue.”

Contrary to its name, Gamma Knife involves no knives. Developed by Dr. Lars Leksell, a Swedish neurosurgeon, the technology has treated more than 260,000 patients worldwide. In addition, the world’s leading neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists and radiation physicists have published more than 2,000 peer-reviewed articles attesting to the accuracy, safety and efficiency of Gamma Knife. Future uses may include treating other neurological diseases.

“Patients get all the benefits without the risks of open-brain surgery,” said Dr. Engles. “And instead of facing a lengthy recovery, most patients return to normal activities within a few days. They usually don’t spend even one night in the hospital.”

Mercy’s Gamma Knife is expected to be operational in early August. For more information, call 405-752-3771.

Mercy Health Center, the only Magnet hospital in Oklahoma and among only 2 percent of hospitals in the nation to be awarded Magnet status, is a member of Mercy Health System of Oklahoma and the Sisters of Mercy Health System. Magnet-designated facilities: report higher patient satisfaction rates, deliver better patient outcomes, provide more nursing care at the bedside of patients and consistently outperform non-magnet organizations.
 

Mercy Health Center, the only Magnet hospital in Oklahoma and among only 2 percent of hospitals in the nation to be awarded Magnet status, is a member of Mercy Health System of Oklahoma and the Sisters of Mercy Health System. Magnet-designated facilities: report higher patient satisfaction rates, deliver better patient outcomes, provide more nursing care at the bedside of patients and consistently outperform non-magnet organizations.