Gamma Knife Center

Dr. Burke Dial, Medical Director for Palmetto Health Gamma Knife Center, explains how Gamma Knife Radiosurgery works and its benefits.

Gamma Knife Radiosurgery is a well established method to treat tumors and other abnormalities in the brain. Leksell Gamma Knife is not actually a knife. This non-surgical procedure enables physicians to selectively destroy brain tumors or blood vessel abnormalities deep within the brain without an incision. High concentrations of radiation beams are precisely focused onto a specific target to destroy the abnormal cells without harming surrounding healthy tissue. The Palmetto Health Cancer Centers is fortunate to have the first Gamma Knife Radiosurgery Center in South Carolina.    

 Gamma Knife is used to treat various diagnoses including...

• Benign tumors
• Malignant tumors
• Acoustic neuromas
• Meningiomas
• Pituitary adenomas
• Craniopharyngiomas
• Tumors at the skull base or pineal region
• Vascular abnormalities
• Trigeminal neuralgia   

Educational information on these indications for Gamma Knife is available on the International Radiosurgery Association website.

What is Gamma Knife?
Gamma Knife Radiosurgery is a non-invasive neurosurgical alternative used for the treatment of malignant and benign brain tumors, vascular malformations and trigeminal neuralgia. The energy of 192 narrow beams of cobalt radiation is focused on a specific target within the brain. Individually, these low-density beams are too weak to cause any significant damage; however, when they converge on the target, they arrest growth and destroy abnormal cells. Healthy brain tissue remains safe and intact. Gamma Knife offers a safe and effective alternative to surgery and whole brain radiation. Currently, nearly 50,000 patients each year benefit from this form of treatment. Gamma Knife Perfexion is the world's most advanced system for stereotactic radiosurgery in the brain.

A Multidisciplinary Team
Patients referred to our Gamma Knife program will be cared for by a multidisciplinary team of specialists including neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and nurses specifically trained in Gamma Knife. Referring physicians also are encouraged to be active partners in the treatment process.

For more information about the Gamma Knife Center, e-mail us or call us: in Columbia, S.C., call (803) 434-3497 or toll free at 1-800-928-7974.