Gamma Knife Radiosurgery is a noninvasive procedure that delivers multiple beams of radiation at a target in your brain. It is supported by more than 2,500 research articles published in scientific journals, and the global medical community recognizes it as the preferred treatment for several disorders. Since the intervention doesn’t involve the physical trauma and most of the risks of traditional surgery, it is safe for many patients.
What Is Gamma Knife Radiosurgery?
The procedure is actually a form of radiation surgery. It uses the three-dimensional techniques of magnetic resonance imaging scans and computerized tomography scans to identify the focal point in your brain where the focused radiation will be targeted. After analyzing the brain scans, the medical team numbs portions of the scalp and gently applies a head frame with tiny pins. Then, a high resolution MRI and/OR CT scan is obtained to locate the precise “target” for treatment. In this case, the trigeminal nerve.
What Is Gamma Knife Radiosurgery Used to Treat?
While the treatment is most often used to alleviate neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy, it is also commonly associated following four disorders:
- Trigeminal neuralgia, also referred to as tic douloureux, is a disruption in the function of the fifth cranial nerve. This structure transmits sensory information between the brain and parts of the forehead, cheek and lower jaw. Facial pain resulting from the disorder is intense and disabling.
- Arteriovenous malformations are snarled tangles of veins and arteries that can interfere with normal blood flow and result in bleeding.
- Acoustic neuromas are benign tumors that occur along the nerve leading from the inner ear to the brain, which mediates balance and hearing. The malady can cause dizziness, hearing loss, ringing in the ears and impaired balance.
- Cancerous tumors that either originate in the brain or metastasize to the organ from other parts of the body.
If you have any of the above maladies, you may be a candidate for Gamma Knife Radiosurgery. Patients who have trigeminal neuralgia should consult a facial pain specialist before considering this option. Conventional surgery is commonly used for arteriovenous malformations, but the radiation alternative is appropriate for those whose condition would preclude an invasive remedy. After studying your medical history and the results of imaging, your doctor can determine if this is the best choice for you.
How Can the Treatment Cure Your Facial Pain?
The method by which the intervention can reduce facial pain differs with each condition. Below is a description of how it helps the most common disorders:
- Trigeminal neuralgia: During the procedure, many beams of radiation from multiple angles are directed at the point where the nerve enters your brainstem. While the emissions don’t damage healthy brain tissue, they destroy the abnormal cells causing the pain.
- Arteriovenous malformations: The radiation changes the cells of the malformation, an effect that begins the healing process. Over a period of months, the walls of the malformation will thicken and close, which stops the blood flow through the abnormality and prevents future rupture.
- Acoustic neuromas and cancerous tumors: Gamma Knife Radiosurgery stops the expansion or reduces the size of your abnormal growth.
What Are the Pros of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery?
An assessment of the treatment reveals it has quite a few advantages. The following are the most important pros:
- The extreme accuracy and precision protects areas outside the affected locale from exposure to doses of radiation high enough to cause harm. This benefit reduces your risk of side effects as well as the likelihood of permanent damage to surrounding nerves and blood vessels.
- Since no incision is required, the intervention doesn’t involve the serious hazards and complications associated with anesthesia. This advantage makes it an option for elderly or debilitated patients who aren’t good candidates for conventional surgery.
- The radiation can reach tumors and conditions that lie in a part of your brain that would be inaccessible through open surgery.
- Normally, only one treatment is needed, but the procedure can be repeated if necessary.
- The cost is less than conventional surgery, and it is reimbursed by most insurance companies.
- A lengthy hospitalization or recovery period isn’t required. The intervention is often done on an outpatient basis, but occasionally, it necessitates an overnight stay. Many patients suffer little discomfort afterwards and are able to resume their regular activities quickly.
- The procedure often produces positive health outcomes and improves quality of life.
What is Gamma Knife Radiosurgery’s efficacy?
A sizable percentage of patients who undergo the procedure experience significant pain reduction. In addition, some evidence shows the treatment can increase the life span of those with malignant brain tumors.
What Are the Cons of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery?
No medical intervention is without cons. Gamma Knife Radiosurgery poses the following risks:
- Immediately following the treatment, you may feel tenderness in the scalp where the pins were placed. You may also experience nausea, vomiting, headaches, dizziness or fatigue.
- Some patients may lose a small amount of hair, but it will grow back.
- In rare cases, patients may develop numbness in the side of the face where the pain used to be. This can occur months after the procedure.
- You must wait a few weeks to three months or more after the intervention to receive the full effect.
What is Gamma Knife Radiosurgery? It is a treatment used for a range of neurological disorders, with a high rate of efficacy and a low rate of side effects. For many, the pros outweigh the cons. It offers hope for patients whose condition might have been hopeless prior to its development.
