IORT Radiation Therapy
Intra-operative radiation therapy (IORT) is the use of radiation therapy in the operating room during a surgical procedure. IORT allows for delivery of high radiation doses to a tumor while sparing skin and nearby normal tissues.
In the surgical procedure, the surgeon must show the radiation oncologist the tumor bed areas at risk for residual microscopic disease following removal of the tumor. The sensitive normal tissues are moved out of the radiation field, and then a single high dose of radiation is directed by the radiation oncologist to this high risk region.