On the 9th, Chris had radiation surgery using the Novalis TX. It was a dedicated machine which has better pinpoint accuracy than the typical LINAC machine... it was explained to me that it has about the same pinpoint accuracy as the Gamma Knife machine that is commonly used for trigeminal neuralgia.
Surgery day was a day of lots of waiting. After checking in to hospital, Chris got an IV then after a few hours, he got called down to have the head frame put on. They injected 2 places on his forehead with a golf ball amount of numbing solution and 1 on the back of the head. They then placed the frame & screwed in 3 screws which then allowed them to pinpoint the 4th location. They numbed the 4th location and then put that screw in as well.
Next he was off to have a CAT scan with the frame on. The neurosurgeon, Onocologist/Radiologist, & Physicist then checked to be sure they could see the nerve on the CAT scan and also checked to see that this scan lined up with the trigeminal nerve they located on the MRI (done a week or so earlier).
After waiting a few more hours, he got the call to head over to the Novalis Shaped Beam Radiation center. They picked out some music (yes really) then got him strapped on and locked in to the table. They lined up Chris's head with the machine using lasers. The table moves and the big head of the machine also moves which gives 360 degree from many angles.
Chris earlier was worried that he might move if he had an attack during the procedure, but with being as tightly locked in as he was, it wasn't any concern. He did in fact have a nasty attack, but it did not pose any problem. After that attack, he actually fell asleep. After about 45 minutes of radiation (85 grays), they unlocked him from the table and unscrewed the frame from his head. We then did the exit chat and I was able to take him home.
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