Green Bay – About 17,000 new cases of high-grade gliomas are expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2019, according to the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States.
Gliomas are tumors that arise from the supportive tissue of the brain and account for 80 percent of all malignant brain tumors. The most common and well-known type of high-grade glioma is glioblastoma, which has affected public figures such as the late Sen. John McCain and the late son of former Vice President Joe Biden, Beau Biden.
High-grade gliomas, such as glioblastomas, infiltrate into a person’s brain tissue which can make it difficult for surgeons to differentiate between cancerous and non-cancerous tissue in the brain during surgery.
On Nov. 5, 2019, Prevea Health neurosurgeon, Dr. Joseph Chabot, became the first in Wisconsin to use Gleolan™, a new, breakthrough tool designed to make the surgical removal of high-grade gliomas more effective. The surgery was performed at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay on a patient with glioblastoma.
Gleolan is an imaging agent or dye that shows the surgeon where the cancerous tissue is located within the brain. Patients ingest the Gleolan solution 2 to 4 hours prior to the surgery. Then, during surgery, the surgeon views the brain through a special blue light filter on a surgical microscope. Under this blue light, the active substance in Gleolan causes the cancerous tumor cells to appear a red-violet color, while the non-cancerous brain cells appear blue.
This video shows Gleolan in action during surgery, causing cancerous tumor cells to appear a red-violet color. Prior to or without Gleolan, surgeries on high-grade gliomas would be performed under white light alone. This photo depicts how a surgeon views a high-grade glioma under white light, versus with the use of Gleolan.
“The goal is to remove as much of the tumor as possible without harming areas of the brain that control critical functions such as speech or balance,” said Dr. Chabot. “Although these types of tumors are generally not curable, the use of this new approach can help extend the length of someone’s life without sacrificing the quality of their life.”
Dr. Chabot is specially trained in the removal of complex brain tumors, and, is the only neurosurgeon in Northeast Wisconsin with fellowship training in open and endoscopic skull base surgery. He also participated in the clinical trial that led to the FDA-approval of Gleolan in the United States in 2017.
Dr. Chabot sees patients in Green Bay at the Prevea Allouez Health Center, 1821 S. Webster Ave., and in Appleton at Prevea Health, 2700 E. Enterprise Ave., Suite B. He performs surgery at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay. Appointments can be made by calling (920) 272-3450.
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About HSHS St. Vincent Hospital
HSHS St. Vincent Hospital, 835 S. Van Buren St. in Green Bay, Wis., offers a comprehensive range of high-quality health care services. It is home to Green Bay’s first and only dedicated children’s hospital, a Level II trauma center, a Certified Primary Care Stroke Center, state-of-the-art cancer care and research, cardiac care, women’s care and much more. HSHS St. Vincent Hospital has served Green Bay and its surrounding communities since 1888, when it was established as Green Bay’s first hospital by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. It is an affiliate of Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS), based in Springfield, Ill. To learn more about HSHS St. Vincent Hospital, please visit: www.stvincenthospital.org
About Hospital Sisters Health System
Hospital Sisters Health System’s (HSHS) mission is to reveal and embody Christ’s healing love for all people through our high quality, Franciscan health care ministry. HSHS provides state-of-the-art health care to our patients and is dedicated to serving all people, especially the most vulnerable, at each of our 15 Local Systems and physician practices in Illinois (Breese, Decatur, Effingham, Greenville, Highland, Litchfield, O’Fallon, Shelbyville and Springfield) and Wisconsin (Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Oconto Falls, Sheboygan, and two in Green Bay). HSHS is sponsored by Hospital Sisters Ministries. For more information about HSHS, visit www.hshs.org. For more information about Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, visit www.hospitalsisters.org.
About Prevea Health
Founded in Green Bay, Wis. in 1996, Prevea Health is a health care organization that provides high-quality, primary and specialty health care in 80+ locations across Northern, Eastern and Western Wisconsin in clinic and hospital settings. It is partnered with six Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) hospitals across Wisconsin to provide patients a system of highly-coordinated care, close to home: HSHS St. Vincent Hospital and HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center in Green Bay; HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan; HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital in Oconto Falls; HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire; and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls. For more information, visit www.prevea.com.