Stereotactic and functional neurosurgery
-
Stereotact Funct Neurosurg · Oct 1998
Preservation of hearing in acoustic neuromas treated by gamma knife surgery.
138 acoustic schwannomas were treated by Gamma Knife surgery from July 1992 to May 1994. Cases with neurofibromatosis were excluded because of differences in the patterns of growth and development of tumors in these cases. ⋯ No correlation was found between hearing preservation and tumor volume, central and marginal dose and number of shots. Gamma Knife surgery seems to be superior to microsurgery with regard to preservation of useful hearing.
-
Stereotact Funct Neurosurg · Oct 1998
Gamma knife radiosurgery for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.
One hundred and ten patients with trigeminal neuralgia were treated with the Gamma Knife using a single isocenter, the 4 mm secondary collimator helmet and a radiosurgical dose maximum of 70 or 80-Gy. The isocenter was placed at the trigeminal sensory root adjacent to the pons as identified on stereotactic MRI scans. Follow-up periods range from 4-49 months (mean 19.8 months). ⋯ Three patients (2.7%) developed delayed loss of facial sensation following treatment, but no other complications of any kind were noted. We believe that Gamma Knife radiosurgery is the safest and most effective form of treatment which is currently available for trigeminal neuralgia. We recommend early radiosurgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia once the diagnosis is clearly established.