If you have a certain conditions, such as a brain tumor, arteriovenous malformation or trigeminal neuralgia, you may be a candidate for a type of radiation treatment that has proven beneficial for many patients. The intervention, called Gamma Knife Radiosurgery or stereotactic Radiosurgery, will use computerized treatment planning software to irradiate a precise target without harming surrounding healthy tissue. This guide to Gamma Knife Radiosurgery will acquaint you with the entire process from start to finish.
Overview of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
Typically, the remediation is performed in a single outpatient session. The Gamma Knife Radiosurgery unit sends approximately 200 beams of radiation from multiple directions to the abnormality. While the beams have little effect on the tissue through which they pass, an intense dose of radiation is delivered to the point where these beams converge. In this way, the treatment can produce the desired outcome with minimal risk.
As the Gamma Knife procedure requires no incision, it doesn’t involve the considerable hazards of conventional surgery and general anesthesia. Therefore, the safety rate is high, with most people who undergo this procedure experiencing only mild side effects. Since a lengthy hospital stay isn’t necessary, this treatment doesn’t disrupt life.
As it is a noninvasive procedure, Gamma Knife Radiosurgery can be used to treat older and debilitated patients who wouldn’t be able to tolerate other types of remediation. It also provides a means of helping people with conditions that would be unreachable with conventional surgery.
Preoperative Information
A guide to Gamma Knife Radiosurgery preparation starts with instructions to follow at home. Discuss your medications with your doctor so you’ll know which ones to take on the night before Gamma Knife Radiosurgery and which ones to take in the morning prior to departing for the hospital. Don’t eat or drink anything after midnight on the evening before the treatment. On the day of the treatment, wear comfortable clothing, but don’t wear nail polish, makeup, hairpieces or jewelry. Leave contact lenses, eyeglasses and dentures as well as valuables, such as money, at home.
Upon your arrival at the center, apprise the medical team of health information that could have a bearing on the treatment. Tell them if you’re claustrophobic or have any kind of medical implant on your body. In addition, let them know if you have allergies to shellfish or iodine, because the dyes used in the procedure are related chemically to these substances.
The medical team will prepare you for the Gamma Knife procedure, a process that consists of several steps. First, you will be given a pill to help you relax. Injections of a local anesthetic will be administered, after which a head frame will be placed using four “pins”. You’ll now be ready to undergo computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, tests that will enable the team to identify the target with sub-millimeter accuracy and determine the dose of radiation.
Procedural Information
With the preparation completed, your treatment can begin. You’ll lie on a bed that slides into the Gamma Knife machine, and your head frame will be secured to the couch in a neutral and comfortable position. The frame is open and you will be able to see out into the room.
The Gamma Knife procedure itself is painless. Often times, patients are able to fall asleep while the radiation treatment is being administered. The physicians and other team members will be watching you closely through video monitors in the next room and you will be able to openly and immediately communicate with your doctors through a microphone and speakers built into the Gamma Knife machine.
Postoperative Information
After the treatment, your head frame will be detached and you’ll be allowed to eat and drink. If you have a headache or feel nauseated, you will receive medications. The pin sites may bleed a little and feel tender. You’ll be permitted to return home on the day of treatment or on the following morning, and you can resume everyday activities within a day or so.
Recovery After Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
Minor adverse effects may be immediate or delayed. The ones you may experience immediately are usually temporary and include irritation or scalp swelling at the pin sites along with fatigue that usually resolves within a few days.
Six months following the treatment, some patients have the delayed effect of swelling. When this occurs, the condition can be treated with medications. Neurological problems stemming from the intervention are rare.
Your positive effects should develop gradually. Cancerous tumors often stabilize within a few months, while benign tumors stabilize within 12-18 months. Arteriovenous malformations may close slowly over two years or more. The formation of a lesion that provides relief from the pain of trigeminal neuralgia takes several weeks to months. Your physician will monitor your progress through follow-up imaging tests.
This guide to Gamma Knife Radiosurgery should reassure you of the treatment’s value. Every year, more than 70,000 patients around the world undergo the procedure, a large number of which receive positive outcomes. When you compare the low risks to the potential for pain relief and improved quality of life, the decision to undergo Gamma Knife Radiosurgery will likely seem the reasonable choice.
