Cutting Edge Brain Surgery In Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ) - A brand new type of brain surgery took place at Henry Ford Hospital, Thursday. Doctors are now bringing an MRI right over by the operating room, allowing them to immediately check to see if the surgery is a success.

- PHOTOS FROM THE OPERATING ROOM -

It was the third time that 48-year old April Gillies has gone under the knife to remove a brain tumor which first  occurred in 2006 and then again in 2009. 

 Gillies spoke with WWJ Newsradio 950 before the surgery.

"Both times it was benign, so they're telling me they're going under the assumption that it's the same type of tumor. They're going to use this new machine machine. I guess they're hoping... it won't come back again," she said.

The new to Michigan interaperative MRI scanner is set up in a specially-shielded room adjoining the nonsurgical operating room at Henry Ford Hospital.

It was there that WWJ's Pat Sweeting spoke with neurosurgeon Steven Kalkanis, just after he had removed the tumor from Gillies' brain, and sent her off with a radiology team to check for any remnants of the tumor.

Kalkanis said, this way, if anything is left -- they'll be able to spot it, and get rid of it, right away.

"Those cells, in fact, will light up in the interaperative MR scanner. And, if that's true, we then can localize it with our navigational equipment. We'll beam those images back to the operating room. We'll be able to target wherever that tiny remnant is, if it exists, and we'll be able to remove it completely," said Kalkanis.

Dr. Kalkanis said the interaperative MRI has revolutionized brain tumor treatment.