What is Radiosurgery?

Radiosurgery uses many small beams of radiation precisely aimed at the tumor to deliver extremely high doses with minimal injury to the surrounding normal tissue. The science of radiosurgery was invented in the 1950s for brain tumors but has bow been enhanced to treat tumors and other conditions throughout the body. The treatment is non-invasive but considered surgical because it can have a dramatic effect upon the targeted tumor.

How does it work?
Radiosurgery does not work by buring the tumor or vaporizing it with laser energy. Instead, like conventional radiation therapy, radiosurgery damages the DNA of the tumor cells to prevent them from growing or dividing. With radiosurgery, however, the doses of radiation are much higher than with conventional radiation therapy, so other components of the tumor cells are usually not directly damaged.

What happens during the procedure?
At the Baylor Radiosurgery Center, most patients are treated on an outpatient basis with treatments in the dedicated center lasting from 30 minutes to several hours, depending upon the procedure. For comfort during treatment, patients are able to watch movies displayed on monitors mounted in the ceiling.