Indications

Current indications for Gamma Knife treatment include benign tumors such as meningiomas and acoustic neuromas, malignant tumors such as metastases and malignant gliomas, vascular malformations such as arteriovenous malformations and cavernous angiomas, and functional disorders such as trigeminal neuralgia.

High resolution MRI scans are used for targeting abnormal areas while avoiding normal brain.
A potentially lethal arteriovenous malformation (left) is completely obliterated (right) after Gamma Knife radiosurgery.

The array of vascular malformations and tumors presently treated with Gamma Knife radiosurgery continues to increase. As the ability to better visualize brain abnormalities and functional disorders increases through advances in diagnostic imaging and functional mapping of the brain, applications for the Gamma Knife continue to expand and some day may include treating patients with Parkinson's disease and intractable epilepsy.

Patients are selected for radiosurgery by a team of physicians and based on individual patient analysis and an intensive review of existing imaging studies, physician records and patient age and health assessment.

[Keywords: benign tumors, meningiomas, acoustic neuromas, malignant tumors, metastases, malignant gliomas, vascular malformations, arteriovenous malformations, AVM, cavernous angiomas, functional disorders, trigeminal neuralgia, metastatic, Gamma Knife radiosurgery]