SANTA BARBARA — Cottage Health’s Santa Barbara Neuroscience Institute (SBNI) is the first healthcare provider on the Central Coast to use the latest image-guided laser technology to treat brain tumors, lesions and epilepsy.
The NeuroBlate® System delivers Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT), a minimally invasive surgical technique using MRI-guided laser light to ablate unhealthy brain tissue. It can be an effective treatment option for recurrent and hard to reach brain tumors and lesions. It is also used to treat certain types of epilepsy.
“LITT provides patients with difficult-to-access lesions, recurrent brain tumors and epilepsy with an alternative treatment method,” said Nicole Moayeri, MD, Neurosurgeon affiliated with the Santa Barbara Neuroscience Institute. “Being the first in the region to offer LITT is a testament to Cottage’s commitment to staying at the forefront of neurosurgery.”
LITT provides the benefits of traditional brain surgery with less risk and a shorter recovery time. Unlike traditional brain surgery, LITT does not require a large opening in the skull. Because LITT is MRI-guided, the neurosurgeon can visualize the specific area of the brain to be ablated. The precise nature of the procedure helps to lessen the likelihood of harm to nearby healthy brain tissue.1
“Because LITT is a minimally invasive surgery, it is generally well tolerated and has a short recovery time,” said Dr. Moayeri. “We are excited to offer LITT as an alternative treatment option for patients who meet the criteria.”
To learn more about LITT and services offered by SBNI please contact nurse navigator, Chelsea Brooks, BSN, RN, SCRN at 805-450-8820 or at cbrooks@sbch.org
About Monteris Medical — Monteris Medical is a privately-owned neurosurgical company focused solely on diseases of the brain. The company was founded in 1999 with the mission to create neurosurgical technology that, when used by neurosurgeons, would allow them to ablate brain tumors and lesions that may be difficult to approach via traditional methods. For more information, visit www.monteris.com
About Cottage Health | cottagehealth.org — The not-for-profit Cottage Health is the leader in providing advanced medical care to the Central Coast region. Specialties include the Cottage Children’s Medical Center, Level 1 Trauma Center, Neuroscience Institute, Heart & Vascular Center, Center for Orthopedics, and Rehabilitation Hospital. The Cottage Health medical staff is comprised of more than 700 physicians, many with subspecialties typically found only at university medical centers. Last year, the Cottage Health hospitals in Goleta, Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Valley provided inpatient care for 19,000 people, treated 81,000 patients through their 24- hour emergency departments and helped deliver 2,000 newborns.