‘I'm eternally grateful’: Sheffield patients mark 40 years of pioneering Gamma Knife surgery
When Rotherham mum Paula Hunter was told her brain tumour couldn’t be removed with surgery, Sheffield’s pioneering Gamma Knife treatment gave her back her future.
“It’s been revolutionary because if I had not had it done, I would have been waiting for the inevitable”
Those are the words of Rotherham mum Paula Hunter, who credits Sheffield’s pioneering Gamma Knife treatment with saving her life after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2020.
Paula’s tumour, a meningioma, was inoperable with conventional surgery.
Instead, she underwent a 51-minute Gamma Knife procedure at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
“I’m eternally grateful for the creation of Gamma Knife surgery and to the team at the unit. I forever count my blessings,” she said.
She is one of more than 21,000 patients whose lives have been transformed at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals’ National Centre for Stereotactic Radiosurgery, which this week celebrates 40 years since it became the first UK hospital to use the ground-breaking technique.
Fellow patient Ellen Beardmore, 38, also knows just how vital the service is.
A routine eye test led to the discovery of a large tumour in her brain.
While surgeons were able to remove most of it, Gamma Knife surgery was needed to treat what remained.
“We are so lucky in Sheffield to have this pioneering service on our doorstep,” Ellen said.
“Every time I go past the Royal Hallamshire Hospital I say thank you.”
Gamma Knife radiosurgery, despite its name, involves no cutting.
Instead, beams of gamma radiation are focused with pinpoint accuracy on tumours and other abnormalities, sparing healthy tissue.
Most patients are treated as day cases and can return to normal activities the following day.
The Royal Hallamshire Hospital made history on September 18, 1985, when it became the first UK centre - and only the third in the world - to successfully carry out a Gamma Knife procedure.
The first patient was a young girl with a dangerous cluster of blood vessels in her brain.
Mr Julian Cahill, Consultant in Neurosurgery, said Sheffield’s role has been world-leading ever since:
“Sheffield took an incredible leap in 1985. Today, Gamma Knife treatment is available in more than 360 centres worldwide.
“As we celebrate 40 years since that first historic treatment, we reflect not only on the past but also on our commitment to better outcomes for patients.”
The Sheffield centre is home to a team of neurosurgeons, radiographers, physicists and technologists, who together treat more than 1,200 patients a year.
Forty years after that first historic treatment, both patients and clinicians agree: Sheffield remains at the cutting edge of brain care, and its impact is being felt worldwide.