The first vice-president and Minister of Presidency, Health, and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz, has announced that Andalusia has reached one thousand operations using the GammaKnife technology. This cutting-edge technique is employed for treating brain pathologies with greater precision, speed, and less invasiveness than conventional surgery.
The Virgen de las Nieves Hospital in Granada, which hosts the Radiosurgery Unit, was the first public hospital in Spain to incorporate this technology in 2022. Currently, this technique is also offered only at the Clínico de Valencia and a private clinic in Madrid.
Sanz emphasized that this achievement positions Andalusia and its public healthcare system as a national model, offering quality assistance, research, and training. Radiosurgery allows for the treatment of complex clinical conditions without the need to refer patients outside the community, providing a more precise surgical alternative with fewer risks and side effects.
The 1,000th patient was a woman residing in Seville, operated on May 12th, and the 1,001st was a man from Granada treated in June. Radiosurgery is a minimally invasive technique that often avoids craniotomy, reduces blood loss, shortens hospital stays, and speeds up recovery, proving especially relevant for fragile patients or those with lesions in high-risk areas.
The minister congratulated the members of the Radiosurgery Unit in Granada and professionals from various areas. The unit, which has treated over 4,000 patients since its consolidation, performs an average of more than 230 treatments annually. The clinical committee has evaluated 1,343 cases since 2022.
The unit's multidisciplinary team includes professionals from Radiation Oncology, Neurosurgery, Neuroradiology, Radiophysics, and specialized Nursing. Granada is a benchmark, also hosting the Radiosurgery School of the Spanish Society of Neurosurgery, where over 30 neurosurgeons are trained each year.
Future challenges include expanding the technique to movement disorders, selected epilepsy cases, refractory pain, and potentially refractory psychiatric disorders, always adhering to clinical and scientific evidence criteria.
