Radiosurgery uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors, delivered with surgical precision to avoid damaging healthy brain tissue.
Leksell Gamma Knife is the only radiosurgery approved by the FDA for treatment of brain mets. This proven radiosurgery system is solely dedicated to treating the most sensitive area in the body—the brain. Gamma Knife surgery (see animation) is a gentle treatment with little or no pain that can be performed on an outpatient basis in a few hours, letting you maintain quality of life or return immediately to treating your primary cancer.
The key to the success of Gamma Knife surgery is its ability to accurately focus many beams of high-intensity gamma radiation to converge on one or more tumors. Each individual beam is relatively low energy, so the radiation has virtually no affect on healthy brain tissue.
What are the advantages of Gamma Knife surgery?
- Noninvasive – Despite its name, there is no knife. It’s called Gamma Knife because of the surgical precision and effectiveness. So there’s no incision, no blood and no complications that occur with surgery.
- Effective – Studies show that local control—meaning the specific tumor treated does not come back—exceeds an average of 85% for the management of tumors in any brain location.
- Proven – Over 2,000 medical papers have been published on Gamma Knife surgery, and 500,000 patients have been treated worldwide.
- Accurate – There is no other radiation treatment system as accurate as Leksell Gamma Knife.
- One treatment – The noninvasive Gamma Knife can isolate and deliver a high dose of radiation to one or more brain tumors during a single treatment session.
- Fast recovery – Most people leave the hospital the same day and resume normal activities in a day or two.
- Minimal side effects – Some people may complain of a headache, which can be treated with an over-the-counter pain reliever. There is no loss of hair or nausea, as with some treatments.
- Flexible – Because it’s noninvasive, Gamma Knife surgery can be used to treat metastases in surgically inaccessible areas of the brain, such as the brainstem.
- Repeatable – Patients who develop new brain mets can be treated again with Gamma Knife surgery.
Why doesn’t everyone use it?
Not everyone is a candidate for Gamma Knife surgery. Plus not all surgeons have been trained in its use or have access to it, so they may be reluctant to recommend it to patients.
Other types of radiation treatment often claim to be as accurate and effective, but they don’t have the data and proven results of Leksell Gamma Knife.
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