Medica Sur, Mayo Clinic to Boost Radiosurgery

Medica Sur and Mayo Clinic are collaborating to increase the penetration of minimally invasive surgery in Mexico. While this technique could greatly benefit the country, local doctors and institutions need greater awareness of its costs and benefits.

Minimally invasive surgeries could benefit many patients in Mexico but the country needs a broad-scope program to truly help the population. Low awareness about the benefits of minimally invasive surgery has been one of the main obstacles to its introduction, but institutions in Mexico and abroad are working to address this problem. "We have been working for 29 years to make this process known, but it is still largely unknown," said Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, Neurosurgeon and Head of the Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, and Ramiro Del Valle Robles, Neurosurgeon, Medica Sur, in a conference. 

The doctors also discussed the potential of radiosurgery, a minimally invasive technique that uses external radiation to treat brain tumors and other brain disorders that cannot be treated with regular surgery, according to the National Cancer Institute. In Mexico, access to this type of equipment and technology is not widespread, said the doctors. 

The country needs better trained human capital to address this problem, according to the doctors. But its benefits could be many. Radiosurgery is, on average, between 40.9 percent and 58.8 percent less expensive than traditional neurosurgery for brain metastases, acoustic neurinomas and arteriovenous malformations, according to Gamma Knife del Pacifico.