STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT, MARCH 29
The Radiotherapy team at Sultan Qaboos Comprehensive Cancer Care and Research Centre (SQCCCRC) has successfully performed the first radiosurgery in the Sultanate of Oman to treat trigeminal neuralgia using CyberKnife S7.
Dr Layth Mula-Hussain, consultant radiation oncologist at SQCCCRC, said, “The radiation oncology team performed the first radiosurgery to treat a patient who was suffering from trigeminal neuralgia, which is a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal or fifth cranial nerve.” Although the patient had taken several drugs and had undergone two previous surgeries (Radio-Frequency Ablation), the pain still persists. Dr Furqan Hashemi, the Senior Specialist in Radiation Oncology, explained that the recovery rate for these cases using stereotactic radiosurgery is more than 80 per cent and patients may begin feeling better within a day after the surgery, while others may take up to 6 months for recovery. Furthermore, the patient stated that the pain was significantly reduced within an hour of the surgery and we will continue to monitor her condition to ensure that the treatment is effective.”
“The radiosurgery was performed by directing a very high dose of 6000 cGy into a small area ranging from 3 mm to 6 mm, close to the brainstem with a distance of at least 3 mm, which requires high accuracy in directing radiation beams to damage the nerve and reduce the pain," said Mahmoud el Fishawy, medical physicist.
"CyberKnife S7 surgery is commonly used for the treatment of brain tumours, especially deep brain tumours that are hard to remove during surgery, as well as treating non-cancerous conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia. Indeed, we have started treating a number of cases using the device since mid-January," said Dr Iqbal al Amri, radiation oncology medical physicist.
Jaishan Jalahran, radiation therapist, mentioned that, in addition to the high accuracy, treatment using radiosurgery is characterised by the fact that it does not require inserting internal fixators into the skull and usually a treatment session lasts about 30 minutes, while in previous versions of radiotherapy devices, the treatments last about an hour.
"We are happy to provide this advanced and safe treatment service to all patients in the Sultanate of Oman who are suffering from trigeminal neuralgia, instead of sending patients abroad to receive treatment," said Amna al Ajmi, radiation therapist.
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