Newswise — WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 4, 2015) — Winner of the Brian D. Silber Award, Claudio Tatsui, MD, will present his abstract that shares his research, titled Laser Interstitial Thermotherapy as an Alternative to Separation Surgery in the Management of Spinal Metastasis, during the 83rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS).
High-grade, malignant, spinal-cord compression caused by a tumor resistant to conventional radiation is commonly managed with a combination of surgery designed to remove the epidural lesion, and stabilize the spine prior to stereotactic spinal radiosurgery (SSRS) in order to achieve local tumor control. In the study, doctors introduced the use of laser interstitial thermotherapy instead of the surgery prior to SSRS. Tumor ablation was monitored and controlled in real-time by thermal MRI imaging. This change in procedure allows for good, local control of epidural metastasis of radio-resistant tumors, with minimal side effects and short interval of recovery
Fourteen patients were selected, each with a high degree of epidural compression due to radio-resistant tumors. Visual analog pain scores (VAS) and quality-of-life scores (QoL) were obtained before the procedure, within the first 30 days and 60 days, post procedure. Two months after the procedure, imaging showed 12 out of 14 patients had improvement in the degree of spinal-cord compression.
The results of the study indicate that laser interstitial thermotherapy, as a minimally invasive alternative to separation surgery in the management of spinal metastasis, achieves excellent local control, with low morbidity and fast improvement in pain and quality of life of patients
The author block for this study includes the following: Jonathan Sellin, MD; Jason Stafford, PhD; Jing Li, MD; Jeffrey S. Weinberg, MD, FAANS; Ganesh Rao, MD, FAANS; Laurence Rhines, MD, FAANS.
Disclosure: The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
Media Representatives: The 2015 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting press kit includes releases on highlighted scientific research, AANS officers and award winners, Neurosurgery Awareness Week and other relevant information about this year’s program. Those releases will also be posted under the “Media” area on the 2015 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting website. If you have interest in a topic related to neurosurgery or would like to interview a neurosurgeon — either onsite or via telephone — during this year’s event, please contact Alice Kelsey, AANS director of marketing and communications, via email at [email protected].
About the 2015 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting: Attended by neurosurgeons, neurosurgical residents, medical students, neuroscience nurses, clinical specialists, physician assistants, allied health professionals and other medical professionals, the AANS Annual Scientific Meeting is the largest gathering of neurosurgeons in the nation, with an emphasis on the field’s latest research and technological advances. More than 1,200 scientific abstracts were presented for review at the 2015 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting, and the scientific presentations given at this year’s event represent cutting-edge examples of the incredible developments taking place within the field of neurosurgery. Additional information about the 2015 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting and the meeting program can be found here.
Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 9,000 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. Fellows of the AANS are board-certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, A.C. Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the spinal column, spinal cord, brain, nervous system and peripheral nerves.
For more information, visit www.AANS.org.
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