Best Patients for Gamma Knife Procedure

Each year, hundreds of patients come to the Wake Forest Gamma Knife Center for their cancer treatment. These patients often have the following conditions:

• Brain cancer
• Metastatic brain tumors
• Benign brain tumors
• Brain abnormalities, such as arteriovenous malformation (AVM)
• Neurological disorders, such as trigeminal neuralgia

Wake Forest Gamma Knife Center is the third most active Gamma Knife center in the U.S.

Our experts determine which patients can be treated best by Gamma Knife radiotherapy. The team reviews each patient’s medical history; results of MRIs, CT scans or other imaging; and lab tests. Candidates for Gamma Knife surgery are scheduled for an in-person consultation. Many have surgery the next day.

Often, the team recommends Gamma Knife radiosurgery for patients:

• With brain tumors too difficult to reach with traditional brain surgery
• With brain tumors dangerously close to critical structures, such as the brain stem or optic nerve
• Who aren’t healthy enough to have traditional brain surgery
• Who have had traditional brain surgery that hasn’t worked
• Who have metastatic brain tumors but already are having chemotherapy or radiation therapy for their primary cancer
• Who have metastatic brain tumors that have come back after previous radiation 

Even for patients who can have traditional brain surgery, there are many advantages of Gamma Knife radiosurgery, either instead of or in addition to other treatments.

Learn more about:

• Advantages of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
• Gamma Knife Consultations at Wake Forest Baptist
• Gamma Knife vs. CyberKnife