A non-surgical procedure for treating various types of cerebral conditions, CyberKnife Radiosurgery works by delivering extremely focused blasts of radiation at the tumor. A non-invasive treatment for patients with abnormal blood vessels in their brain—such as those suffering from arteriovenous malformations, trigeminal neuralgia, acoustic neuromas or cerebral tumors—the procedure is ideal for those patients who have tumors that are too deep in the brain to be accessed by traditional surgery. Also, elderly or weak patients who can’t physically tolerate traditional surgery are good candidates for CyberKnife Radiosurgery, as are those who have had a tumor removed and require follow up treatment for abnormal tissue that remains.
After a CT scan is performed to determine the exact location as well as the size of the tumor (the information from the scan is transferred to the CyberKnife computer workstation and a precise treatment plan is devised) a patient is placed on the treatment table and a computer-controlled robotic system revolves around the patient, delivering focused bursts of radiation directly at the tumor and at affected tissue to be treated.
One treatment typically lasts between 30 and 90 minutes, and some patients will need to return for multiple treatments as advised by their physicians and dependent on the type of tumor being treated. Side effects are rare and a patient can usually resume normal activities immediately.