The Radiotherapy team at Sultan Qaboos Comprehensive Cancer Care and Research Center has successfully performed the first radiosurgery in the Sultanate to treat “Trigeminal Neuralgia” (TN) using the CyberKnife S7 System.

Dr. Layth Mula-Hussain, the responsible Consultant Radiation Oncologist at SQCCCRC said, “The Radiation Oncology team performed the first radiosurgery to treat a patient who was suffering from trigeminal neuralgia, which is a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal or 5th cranial nerve.”

Although, the patient had taken several drugs and had undergone two previous surgeries (Radio-Frequency Ablation), the pain still persists. Dr. Furqan Hashemi, the Senior Specialist in Radiation Oncology, explained that the recovery rate for these cases using stereotactic radiosurgery is more than 80%, and patients may begin feeling better within a day after the surgery, while others may take up to 6 months for recovery. Furthermor, the patient stated that the pain was significantly reduced within an hour of the surgery, and we will continue to monitor her condition to ensure that the treatment is effective”.

Mahmoud Al Fishawy, the Medical Physicist said: “The radiosurgery was performed by directing a very high dose of 6000 cGy into a small area ranging from 3 mm to 6 mm, close to the brainstem with a distance of at least 3 mm, which requires high accuracy in directing radiation beams to damage the nerve and reduce the pain.

“CyberKnife S7 surgery is commonly used for the treatment of brain tumours, especially deep brain tumours that are hard to remove during surgery, as well as treating non-cancerous conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia. Indeed, we have started treating a number of cases using the device since mid-January,” Dr. Iqbal Al Amri added, the Radiation Oncology Medical Physicist.

Jaishan Jalahran, the Radiation Therapist, mentioned that, in addition to the high accuracy, treatment using radiosurgery is characterized by the fact that it does not require inserting internal fixators into the skull, and usually a treatment session lasts about 30 minutes, while in previous versions of radiotherapy devices, the treatments last about an hour.

“We are happy to provide this advanced and safe treatment service to all patients in the Sultanate who are suffering from trigeminal neuralgia, instead of sending patients abroad to receive treatment,” Amna Al Ajmi, the Radiation Therapist added.