Earlier this year Travis Ritz underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation to treat a malignant brain tumor. Unfortunately, subsequent scans revealed a recurrence of that tumor.
"That was a tough pill to swallow," said Travis, who soon connected with Dr. Bradley Bohnstedt, an IU Health neurosurgeon.
Dr. Bohnstedt performed an innovative, minimally invasive procedure called laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) to attack the tumor.
IU Health has the only team in Indiana currently offering this procedure.
"We're able to take a catheter the size of a needle down into these lesions and then it heats up. A laser, in essence, cooks the tissue around it and burns it to reduce what's there," said Dr. Bohnstedt. "[We're trying to] add life to their years as much as years to their life."
