SOURCE: slp3D
June 20, 2007 07:15 ET
REMINDER: ORLive Presents: Craniotomy Treatment for Meningioma Tumors Common Among Patients in Their 40s - 50s, Accounts for Over 30 Percent of All Primary Brain Tumors
Live Webcast: From Tufts-New England Medical Center: June 20, 2007 at 6:30 PM EDT (22:30 UTC)
BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - June 20, 2007) - Neurosurgeons at Tufts-New England Medical
Center in Boston will perform a craniotomy to treat a meningioma
tumor for a live webcast produced by www.OR-Live.com on Wednesday, June
20th at 6:30 p.m. The surgical procedure will be performed by Tufts-NEMC's
Neurosurgeon-in-Chief, Carl Heilman, MD, and moderated by fellow
Neurosurgeon Simcha Weller, MD. The Webcast will feature live internet
transmission of the procedure, as well as interviews with other members of
the Medical Center's comprehensive and multidisciplinary Neurosurgery team.
Meningiomas are tumors that arise from the covering of the brain within the
skull. The majority of meningiomas are benign and grow
slowly, however, approximately five percent of meningiomas grow much faster
and behave more aggressively. These are known as anaplastic or malignant
meningiomas. Many meningiomas can be cured with surgery, but others,
due to their location in critical areas or their invasive nature, cannot be
cured by surgery alone.
"It is critical to have a multidisciplinary team that has the full range of
expertise including microsurgical skills, endoscopic techniques,
endovascular embolization capabilities, Gamma Knife radiosurgery and access
to new experimental medical therapies," said Carl Heilman, MD, Tufts-NEMC's
Neurosurgeon-in-Chief. "We are equipped to treat the full range of
meningiomas with state-of-the-art technology."
Tumors that cannot be totally removed by surgery can often be treated with
the use of the Gamma Knife, a non-invasive, single dose of focused
radiation delivered to the meningioma, while sparing healthy surrounding
tissue. In nine out of 10 cases, Gamma Knife treatments will stop the tumor
from growing.
"It is through this close teamwork we at Tufts-New England Medical Center
deliver the best care to patients with meningiomas, from the straight
forward to the most challenging," said Heilman. The Boston Institute of
Neurosurgery at Tufts-New England Medical Center focuses on delivering
comprehensive, multidisciplinary care of cranial and spinal disorders, with
an emphasis on minimally invasive treatments. Such treatments include
endoscopic skull base and pituitary surgery, endovascular treatments of
aneurysms, AVMs, carotid stenosis and vertecrobasilar disease.
Carl B. Heilman, MD, is Tufts-New England Medical Center's
Neurosurgeon-in-Chief and is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University
School of Medicine. His clinical specialties include skull base tumor
surgery, endoscopic pituitary surgery, acoustic neuromas, meningiomas,
Chiari malformations and pediatric neurosurgery.
Simcha Weller, MD, is a Neurosurgeon at Tufts-New England Medical Center
and a Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. His clinical
specialties include complex and reconstructive spine surgery, spinal
stabilization for trauma and metastatic spinal tumors, cervical sponsylosis
and minimally invasive spine surgery.
Visit: http://www.or-live.com/Tufts-NEMC/1733 now to learn more and view a
program preview. VNR http://www.or-live.com/rams/tun-1733-mkw-q.ram