title: Radiosurgery: a nursing perspective.
abstract: The term radiosurgery, originally applied to three-dimensional stereotactic irradiation of small intracranial targets with low-energy x-rays, has more recently been applied to widely differing techniques and radiation sources. These include gamma units using cobalt-60; beams of protons, helium ions and neutrons; and modified cobalt-60 or linear accelerator units. These techniques allow delivery of a high dose of radiation in a single fraction to a small and well-defined intracranial volume, without delivering significant radiation to adjacent normal tissue. The most usual targets for radiosurgery are arteriovenous malformations. It is occasionally used for acoustic neuromas and primary or metastatic brain malignancies as well. Although radiosurgery is not a new procedure, its use is becoming more widespread. Nurses, as critical members of radiosurgery teams, must be informed about all aspects of the procedures and associated nursing care skills.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lamb
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ham
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Gutin
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D016371:Cranial Irradiation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000451:nursing / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D002538:Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000451:nursing / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D010315:Particle Accelerators / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013238:Stereotaxic Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*