Best Doctors 2010: Inoperable tumors meet their match

Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Gene Barnett is the first neurosurgeon in the world to use a laser device that destroys otherwise inoperable brain tumors by cooking them from the inside out. The computer-guided device, inserted through a half-inch hole in the head, shoots a laser that allows treatment of tumors. Surgeons watch the process using modified MRI machines and ensure that they kill the tumor without destroying nearby brain tissue. “It’s going to be another important tool that allows us to provide better treatment,” Barnett says.