What to expect
during your Gamma Knife experience
The day of treatment (continued)
After treatment
When your treatment has been completed, the head frame is
removed. The pin sites are dressed with band-aids. A very few people experience headache once the frame is removed. If this occurs, your nurse or doctor will administer some medication to make you feel more comfortable.
Eating
At this time you are allowed to eat and drink. The IV may remain in your arm until you tolerate liquids well. If you had an angiogram, you must lie flat in bed for up to 8 hours, but you may still eat and drink. Lying flat for this length of time helps prevent any clot formation of the previously cannulated groin artery.
Going home
You are normally released on the day of treatment or the next morning, depending on your specific treatment and your condition.
The days following treatment
Effects of treatment
Usually there are no long-term effects from Gamma Knife
treatment. You may move about as you normally do. A very few people lose a small patch of hair if the treated area was near the surface of the skull. This hair usually grows back within a few months.
Medications
Any time we treat the brain, whether with a scalpel or with radiation, the brain tissue reacts and some swelling of the brain may develop. This happens because the radiation causes the cells to lose their ability to replicate or to regulate fluids. If this occurs, your neurosurgeon may prescribe a mild steroid.
Leksell Gamma Knife is a registered trademark
of Elekta Instruments, Inc.
Watch a movie
Watch a 17 minute movie of a typical experience with the Gamma Knife, courtesy of UPMC
Presbyterian in Pittsburg, PA.. This video clip shows footage of a Gamma
Knife, its functioning and how it is housed, as well as a reassuring
review of what to expect and real interviews with people who have
undergone Gamma Knife surgery.
