Question

5. Laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) is one of the most recent developments in laser therapies for cancer treatment. Discuss the principal idea of LITT, its most important applications, and how it can be used for minimally invasive surgery.

Answer 1

Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is an emerging technique which is primarily is used to  treat primary and metastatic brain tumors that can be hard to reach with conventional surgery. LITT is performed by implanting a laser catheter into the tumor and heating it to temperatures high enough to kill the tumor at the affected area of the body part. it was the most reliable neurosurgical technique in medical field to destroy the tumors in particular area.

The catheter is implanted using advanced computer imaging techniques. The laser is guided through the catheter with real-time MRI, allowing neurosurgeons to limit thermal energy delivery only to the tumor which is unlike in conventional techniques of surgery. Most patients can go home the day after treatment and can quickly return to normal activities.

Laser interstitial thermal therapy is minimally invasive. It typically requires only a 2-millimeter incision in the scalp, and takes only a few minutes to perform the entire surgery while the common methods require more operational hours

LITT can also help patients who do not respond to stereotactic radiosurgery or have radiation necrosis (tissue death caused by radiation treatment).

the main principle behind the LASER INDUCED INTERSTITIAL THERMOTHERAPY involves

Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) offers a minimally invasive surgical option to treat central nervous system (CNS) tumors. LITT uses laser energy delivered to a target i.e. CNS tumor through a fiberoptic catheter, which results in damage to intracellular proteins and DNA, and subsequent cell death. Fiber optic catheters can be used in vivo to measure mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) inside the pulmonary artery, which represents the blood outflow.