{"id":2061,"date":"2022-10-11T12:27:51","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T16:27:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mhsi.com\/blog\/?p=2061"},"modified":"2025-01-27T15:25:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T20:25:19","slug":"gamma-knife-radiosurgery-is-it-right-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mhsi.com\/blog\/gamma-knife-radiosurgery-is-it-right-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Gamma Knife Radiosurgery: Is It Right for You?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Every year, about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elekta.com\/patients\/gamma-knife-treatment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">80,000 people<\/a> are treated by neurosurgeons with a tool called the Leksell Gamma Knife\u00ae, which treats small and medium-sized brain tumors.<\/p>\r\n<p>Understanding Gamma Knife treatment, including how and when it is used, can help you determine if you may be a good candidate for this highly effective, non-invasive procedure.<\/p>\r\n<p>Contrary to its name, the Leksell Gamma Knife\u00ae doesn\u2019t involve a knife or blade, and the surgeon makes no incisions. The treatment is a type of radiation based on the concept of concentrating beams of radiation into a very small point. It was invented by a Swedish neurosurgeon, Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.isrsy.org\/medias\/files\/01about\/04newsletters\/the-history-of-the-gamma-knife-by-jeremy-c.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lars Leksell<\/a>, in 1967, and is also called radiosurgery or stereotactic radiosurgery.<\/p>\r\n<p>The Gamma Knife functions similarly to a magnifying glass that, when held up in the sun, concentrates the sun\u2019s rays into a tiny, powerful beam. The Knife is used to deliver focused radiation to small areas of the brain in a very exact way.<\/p>\r\n<p>Gamma Knife treatment can be used for:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n    <li>Small to medium-sized brain tumors that arise from the brain itself<\/li>\r\n    <li>Malignant (cancerous) brain tumors that have spread from other parts of the body such as the breast, lung or kidney<\/li>\r\n    <li>Small blood vessel abnormalities such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK493195\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">arterio-venous malformations<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><strong>Benefits of Gamma Knife Treatment<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>If the Gamma Knife is like a magnifying glass, conventional radiation treatment is like being at the beach \u2014 when you get a sunburn, you get it over your whole body. And when conventional radiation is used to treat brain lesions, it also irradiates (and damages) otherwise healthy brain tissue surrounding the lesion.<\/p>\r\n<p>Because Gamma Knife treatment uses highly focused radiation to very exact points of the brain, it minimizes damage to the brain while maximizing the positive outcomes for the patient.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>What Does Gamma Knife Treatment Involve?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Gamma Knife treatment is a painless, outpatient procedure that only needs to be performed once. On average, the procedure takes around two hours.<\/p>\r\n<p>Patients remain awake throughout the procedure and are generally able to go home and return to normal activities a few hours after treatment. Within a few months, tumors may begin to shrink. In many cases, the tumor shrivels down and disappears.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Are You Eligible for Gamma Knife Treatment?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Many brain abnormalities that can be treated with conventional radiation may also be treatable with Gamma Knife radiation, if they are small enough.<\/p>\r\n<p>For example, a woman with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breastcancer.org\/types\/metastatic\/brain-metastasis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">brain tumor that came from her breast<\/a> could be an excellent candidate for Gamma Knife treatment, provided the tumor is less than one inch in diameter. After using an MRI to pinpoint the tumor\u2019s location, a neurosurgeon trained to use the Gamma Knife would work with a radiation oncologist to devise a treatment plan.<\/p>\r\n<p>Working together, the neurosurgeon and radiation oncologist would perform the Gamma Knife treatment to eventually eliminate the tumor.<\/p>\r\n<p>If you or a loved one are dealing with a small brain tumor or other abnormality, consider reaching out to a Gamma Knife specialist who can help you determine if this noninvasive, highly effective treatment is an option for you.<\/p>\r\n<h6><b>If you or a loved one is seeking treatment for a brain tumor, are interested in Gamma Knife radiosurgery, or to schedule an appointment with any of our MHSI experts, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mhsi.com\/corporate\/appointments\/\">www.mhsi.com\/appointments<\/a> or call <a href=\"tel:(248) 784-3667\">248-784-3667<\/a>.<\/b><\/h6><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year, about 80,000 people are treated by neurosurgeons with a tool called the Leksell Gamma Knife\u00ae, which treats small and medium-sized brain tumors. Understanding Gamma Knife treatment, including how and when it is used, can help you determine if you may be a good candidate for this highly effective, non-invasive procedure. Contrary to its [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[83,79,81],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Gamma Knife Radiosurgery: Is It Right for You? - Michigan Head &amp; Spine Institute Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understanding Gamma Knife treatment can help you determine if you may be a good candidate for this highly effective, non-invasive procedure.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mhsi.com\/blog\/gamma-knife-radiosurgery-is-it-right-for-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gamma Knife Radiosurgery: Is It Right for You? 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