First use of combination of open heart surgery and radiosurgery
A multidisciplinaryRelating to a group of healthcare professionals with different areas of specialisation. team from The Harley Street Clinic has become the first to use a combination of open heart surgery and radiosurgery, delivered by the UK’s first CyberKnife®, to treat a man with a large tumourAn abnormal swelling. in his heart.
Michael Kilby, who is 67, was given just a few months to live when it was discovered he had a large tumour in the right ventricleEither of the two lower chambers of the heart, or any of the four cavities within the brain. which was severely restricting bloodA fluid that transports oxygen and other substances through the body, made up of blood cells suspended in a liquid. flow. He was so ill he could not even speak in long sentences.
Cardiac surgeon Mr David Lawrence removed as much of the tumour as possible and then Mr Kilby was treated with conventional radiotherapyThe treatment of disease using radiation.. Although blood flow was improved, the radiotherapy failed to shrink the remaining cancerAbnormal, uncontrolled cell division resulting in a malignant tumour that may invade surrounding tissues or spread to distant parts of the body. and so cardiologist Dr John Coltart and radiosurgery expert, Dr Nick Plowman decided to try a world first treatment using the robotic CyberKnife® system.
In just a few days the tumour had shrunk by 40% and Mr Kilby is now able to walk around more easily. He has even booked a five month overseas trip with his wife Licette. Dr Plowman, Medical Director of the CyberKnife® Centre at The Harley Street Clinic and Dr Coltart are hoping that there will be further shrinkage of the tumour in Mr Kilby’s heart. Dr Coltart said that while these were early days after this world first procedure and the team was being very cautious, the use of CyberKnife® to treat cancer in the heart certainly merited further investigation.
Mr Kilby said he was delighted with the results and hoped more research would be carried out so that others might benefit from the use of CyberKnife® in cardiacRelating to the heart cases such as his.
Dr David Coltart is currently preparing an article for totalhealth describing the latest advances in cardiology and the associated patient benefits.
