PoleStar: Roswell Park’s newest weapon against brain tumors

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Patients who undergo surgery for the removal of a brain tumor now have another edge at Roswell Park: the ioMRI Navigation Suite. The first such unit in the region and one of only 42 in the nation, ioMRI makes it possible to create updated MRI scans of the brain during surgery, providing neurosurgeons with “real-time” images of the brain after it shifts inside the skull. Before the arrival of ioMRI neurosurgeons had to rely on images captured before surgery.

The sharp images produced by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) help neurosurgeons distinguish between the tumor and healthy brain tissue, which are difficult to tell apart with the naked eye. That’s critical for ensuring more complete removal of the tumor and avoiding injury to healthy brain tissue, which could affect the patient’s speech or movement. The unit also makes it possible to compare side-by-side images created before, during and after surgery.

Robert Fenstermaker, MD, Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, says the ioMRI can also alert neurosurgeons to problems that develop before the patient’s incision is closed, thus reducing the possibility of post-surgery complications, including blood clots, which would require additional surgery. That translates into faster patient recovery, fewer re-operations and lower hospital costs.

Every year, Roswell Park’s Department of Neurosurgery performs approximately 150 operations for brain tumors and more than 300 Gamma Knife “radiosurgery” procedures to treat brain tumors.