Radiosurgery in intracranial tumors and vascular malformations.
In 1951 Leksell first coined the term "radiosurgery" indicating a new tool for the neurosurgeon by means of ionizing radiations. The technique consists of cross-firing a stereotactic target with several well-collimated "shots" of radiation. This produces well-defined lesions in the brain without opening the skull. After several significant improvements of this technique, now assisted by a computer, today it is possible to "tailormake" composite radiation fields for any single lesion. Some interesting clinical applications are Cushing's disease, acoustic tumors, pineal region tumors and arteriovenous malformations.
Backlund
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Department of Neurosurgery, University of Bergen School of Medicine, Haukeland Hospital, Norway.
D000236:Adenoma / Q000532:radiotherapy; D001165:Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000532:radiotherapy; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000532:radiotherapy; D010870:Pineal Gland; D010903:Pituitary Gland, Anterior; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D013238:Stereotaxic Techniques; D000160:Vestibulocochlear Nerve Diseases / Q000532:radiotherapy*