RADIOSURGERY
At the Center for Acoustic Neuroma, we use CyberKnife, or robotic radio surgery, to treat smaller acoustic neuromas when indicated. It may also be used when conventional surgery is not possible due to poor health or advanced age. Despite the name, CyberKnife does not use a knife or a scalpel but rather a state of the art system for delivering targeted, accurate, and precise radiation.
With CyberKnife Radiosurgery, our doctors can deliver radiation to acoustic neuromas in the narrow confines of the internal auditory canal, while avoiding or minimizing damage to important nerves—those responsible for hearing, balance, and facial movement and sensation. The major goals of CyberKnife Radiosurgery are to preserve cranial nerve function and avoid the risks of open surgery in specific patients.
Working together, our neurosurgeons, neurotologists, and radiation oncologists use highly detailed MRI and CT studies to create a customized and precise treatment plan for the acoustic neuroma. Then, using the CyberKnife system, highly targeted radiation beams are directed to the tumor in one or several treatment sessions. Critical neighboring structures receive only a low dose of radiation.
Because CyberKnife Radiosurgery depends on the precise delivery of radiation beams, people being treated wear a mask to prevent them from moving and allows for precise targeting of the treatment.
CyberKnife Radiosurgery is an outpatient procedure and usually takes a few hours to complete.