Learn about brain radiosurgery and its benefits
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a procedure that uses highly precise, targeted radiation in large doses to effectively treat a tumor or destroy a lesion. It is considered a non-invasive procedure that has been used as an effective alternative to surgery or conventional standard fractionated radiotherapy for treating small tumors and other select medical conditions.
It is not surgery in the traditional sense because there is no incision. Instead, stereotactic radiosurgery uses 3D imaging to direct high doses of radiation to the affected area with minimal impact on the surrounding healthy tissue.
Like other forms of radiation, stereotactic radiosurgery works by damaging the DNA of the cells in the tumor tissue being treated. The affected cells then lose their ability to reproduce, causing both malignant and benign tumors to shrink and/or disappear.
It is a safe and effective treatment technique with over 50 years of continuous development. Radiosurgery has expanded widely to treat a variety of neurological and other conditions, including:
Primary brain tumors: Radiosurgery is performed to treat both benign and malignant brain tumors, including meningioma, paraganglioma, hemangioblastoma, craniopharyngioma, etc.
Radiosurgery can also be used to treat metastatic lesions in the brain or spinal cord that have spread from other parts of the body (brain and/or spinal metastases).
Other conditions that can be managed with radiosurgery include arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), trigeminal neuralgia, acoustic neuroma, and pituitary tumors.
The side effects of brain radiosurgery will depend on the location of the lesion or lesions, but the most common are headache, fatigue, and nausea, among others. Some treatments are temporary and managed by the attending physicians and nurses.
At the Cancer Institute of Hospital Serena del Mar, we have state-of-the-art technology and a highly trained team of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, radiation therapy technologists, and nurses to perform these types of treatments, in addition to the full multidisciplinary support of the hospital.
