Gamma Knife Surgery in India

Despite the name, Gamma Knife surgery involves no cutting at all. It is a form of stereotactic radiosurgery that uses computer-guided planning to focus around 200 tiny beams of gamma radiation precisely onto a target inside the brain, delivering a high dose exactly where needed while sparing surrounding healthy tissue. It has been in clinical use for over 50 years and is considered a gold standard in non-invasive neurosurgery worldwide.

What it treats

Gamma Knife is used for a range of brain conditions, including benign and malignant brain tumours such as meningiomas, acoustic neuromas and metastatic brain tumours, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs, abnormal tangles of blood vessels), pituitary adenomas, and functional disorders such as trigeminal neuralgia, a chronic facial nerve pain condition. It is often specifically recommended for tumours that are small, deep-seated, or located near critical structures where open surgery would carry higher risk.

How the treatment is delivered

Before treatment, detailed MRI or CT imaging maps the exact target, and a lightweight frame or mask is fitted to keep the head perfectly still during the session, ensuring the radiation beams converge with millimetre precision. The session itself, done while you are awake and comfortable, can take anywhere from under an hour to a few hours depending on the size and number of targets. Most patients go home the same day or after a single night of observation.

Who is a good candidate

Gamma Knife is frequently offered to patients who are not ideal candidates for open brain surgery due to the location of their condition or their overall health, as well as to patients seeking a less invasive first option. It is generally not suitable for very large tumours or a high number of separate lesions, where the radiation exposure across a wide area becomes a limiting factor. Your neurosurgeon will confirm suitability based on your specific imaging.