Radiosurgery
- Stereotactic radiosurgery
- The goal of radiosurgery is to slow or stop the tumor growth, not to cure or remove the tumor.
- Radiosurgery is often performed in elderly or sick patients who are unable to tolerate brain surgery.
- Sometimes during brain surgery to treat acoustic neuromas, not all of the tumor can be safely removed, and some residual tumor must be left behind. Radiosurgery is often used post-operatively to treat residual tumor in these cases.
- Radiosurgery is only appropriate for small tumors, so that radiation damage to surrounding tissues can be minimized.
- Like brain surgery, radiosurgery can sometimes result in facial paralysis or loss of hearing.
- Observation
- Since these tumors usually grow very slowly, small tumors that have minimal or no symptoms (asymptomatic) can be safely observed with regular MRI scans and left untreated unless they grow dangerously.
- Very often, elderly patients will die of other natural causes before small, slow growing tumors become symptomatic.
Learn more about radiosurgery by visiting the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center website.
Radiosurgery
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