Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a type of radiation therapy used to treat tumors, vascular malformations and other abnormalities in the brain.

Gamma Knife radiosurgery, like other forms of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), is not surgery in the traditional sense because there is no incision.

Instead, Gamma Knife radiosurgery uses specialized equipment to focus about 200 tiny beams of radiation on a tumor or other target with submillimeter accuracy. Although each beam has very little effect on the brain tissue it passes through, a strong dose of radiation is delivered to the place where all the beams meet.

The precision of brain stereotactic radiosurgery results in minimal radiation delivery to healthy tissues surrounding the target.

REASONS:

Gamma Knife radiosurgery is often a safer alternative to standard brain surgery (neurosurgery), which requires incisions in the scalp, an opening in the skull and membranes surrounding the brain, and dissection into brain tissue. This type of radiation treatment is usually performed when:

• A tumor or other abnormality in the brain is too hard to reach with standard neurosurgery
• A person isn't healthy enough to undergo standard surgery
• A person prefers a less invasive treatment

In some cases, Gamma Knife radiosurgery may have a lower risk of side effects compared with other types of radiation therapy and it can all be done in one day compared with up to 30 treatments with conventional radiation therapy.