Acoustic Neuroma Gamma Knife Radiosurgery: A Less Invasive Alternative
Acoustic neuroma gamma knife radiosurgery is a low risk treatment option for people diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, also called a vestibular schwannoma. This type of tumor is benign and forms on the acoustic nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain. An acoustic neuroma is characteristically slow-growing and in time presses against the hearing and balance nerves. Patients diagnosed with this type of brain tumor often develop loss of hearing on one side, ringing in the ears, dizziness and loss of balance. If left untreated, facial paralysis and numbness can occur. Confirmation of the presence of a tumor on the hearing nerve is achieved with an MRI or CT scan of the head. Acoustic neuromas are of an unknown etiology and are most often diagnosed in people between the ages of 30 and 60, although they can occur as early as age 7.
Acoustic neuroma gamma knife radiosurgery is most effective when the size of the tumor has an intracranial diameter of less than three centimeters. Tumors larger than this present an increased risk of hydrocephalus, an excessive accumulation of cerebral spinal fluid, and require the placement of a shunt. Gamma knife radiosurgery does not require surgical incisions or anesthesia and the risk of infection is eliminated. The procedure works by using pinpoint radiation to damage the cells inside the target area. Doctors use high tech imaging to localize tumors within the brain with an accuracy of half a millimeter or less. An array of radiation beams is delivered to the tumor from many different directions. The point where all of the beams come together is the area that receives the positive effects of the gamma knife radiosurgery. The precision of the acoustic neuroma gamma knife treatment targets the tumor on the auditory nerve without harm to the surrounding tissue of the brain. The goal of the procedure is to destroy or inactivate the tumor cells so they no longer replicate. The goal of this treatment is to stop growth, complete removal is not necessary because this type of tumor is benign. A patient’s progress following the procedure is monitored through follow up imaging studies.
