Gamma Knife Surgery
Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, NY, a collaborative partner of the Westchester Brain Tumor Program, is the only hospital between New York City and Syracuse with the expertise and technology to offer Gamma Knife radiosurgery, a non-invasive alterative to traditional surgery..
The Gamma Knife is not a knife at all that but a highly sophisticated device that focuses high-energy gamma radiation on tumors in the brain. It is considered to be the gold standard of treatment for a broad spectrum of brain lesions.
Advantages of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
- It is a non-invasive treatment that requires no incision
- It is performed under local anesthesia with mild sedation
- It eliminates risks of infection and adverse reactions to general anesthesia
- It is typically an outpatient procedure with fewer complications than traditional surgery
- It allows patients to leave the hospital within 24 hours, often without an overnight stay
- It affects only targeted tissue, sparing surrounding brain tissue
- It can be applied to brain tumors and blood vessel malformations
- It allows the patient and surgeon to communicate freely during the procedure, through both a video camera and an intercom
- It is approved by the FDA to treat brain metastases
- It can be used to treat inoperable tumors
- It allows patients to return to pretreatment activities within days, requiring little or no rehabilitative services
- More than 3,000 peer-review clinical articles support its use
- More than 600,000 people have undergone treatment worldwide, with an average of over 60,000 people a year.
For more information on the Gamma Knife Center at Northern Westchester Hospital, click here.
