Douglas Kondziolka, M.D., vice chair of clinical research at the NYU Langone Medical Center’s neurosurgery department and head of its Center for Advanced Radiosurgery, recently met with Valley neurosurgery experts at The Gamma Knife Center to discuss their plan for a patient being treated for an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). AVMs are tangles of arteries and veins that disrupt the normal passage of blood from arteries to veins.
“The patient had suffered a stroke and was brought to Valley’s emergency department by her daughter,” explains Chad DeYoung, M.D., radiation oncologist at The Gamma Knife Center. “It was discovered that the cause of her brain bleed was in fact AVM, which, if untreated, can lead to another stroke in the future.”
The Gamma Knife treats AVM with targeted radiation to the specific area in the brain where the vessels are tangled or enlarged, shrinking the affected veins and helping prevent future blockages or bleeds.
Dr. Kondziolka, a professor of neurological surgery and radiation oncology at University of Pittsburgh, helped establish Pitt as a Gamma Knife facility and has treated countless patients suffering from AVM with the Gamma Knife. Providing his knowledge and expertise in this rare condition, Dr. Kondziolka observed the procedure and worked with Valley’s multidisciplinary team of neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists to discuss the important issues that relate to this innovative form of AVM treatment.
