BACK TOTOP Browse A-ZSearchBrowse A-ZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0-9 E-mail FormEmail ResultsName:Email address:Recipients Name:Recipients address:Message: Print-FriendlyBookmarksbookmarks-menuStereotactic radiosurgery - CyberKnifeStereotactic radiotherapy; SRT; Stereotactic body radiotherapy; SBRT; Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy; SRS; CyberKnife; CyberKnife radiosurgery; Non-invasive neurosurgery; Brain tumor - CyberKnife; Brain cancer - CyberKnife; Brain metastases - CyberKnife; Parkinson - CyberKnife; Epilepsy - CyberKnife; Tremor - CyberKnifeStereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a form of radiation therapy that focuses high-power energy on a small area of the body. Despite its name, radiosurgery is a treatment, not a surgical procedure. Incisions (cuts) are not made on your body.More than one type of machine and system can be used to perform radiosurgery. This article is about radiosurgery using the system called CyberKnife. Description SRS targets and treats an abnormal area. The radiation is tightly focused, which minimizes damage to nearby healthy tissue.During treatment:You won't need to be put to sleep. The treatment does not cause pain. You lie on a table that slides into a machine that delivers radiation. A robotic arm controlled by a computer moves around you. It focuses radiation exactly on the area being treated. The health care providers are in another room. They can see you on cameras and hear you and talk with you on microphones. Each treatment takes about 30 minutes to 2 hours. You may receive more than one treatment session, but usually no more than five sessions. Why the Procedure Is Performed SRS is more likely to be recommended for people who are too high risk for conventional surgery. This may be due to age or other health problems. SRS may be recommended because the area to be treated is too close to vital structures inside the body. CyberKnife is often used to slow the growth of or completely destroy small, deep brain tumors that are hard to remove during conventional surgery.Tumors of the brain and nervous system that can be treated using CyberKnife include:Cancer that has spread (metastasized) to the brain from another part of the body A slow-growing tumor of the nerve that connects the ear to the brain (acoustic neuroma) Acoustic neuromaAn acoustic neuroma is a slow-growing tumor of the nerve that connects the ear to the brain. This nerve is called the vestibular cochlear nerve. It...Read Article Now Book Mark Article Pituitary tumors Pituitary tumorsA pituitary tumor is an abnormal growth in the pituitary gland. The pituitary is a small gland at the base of the brain. It regulates the body's ba...Read Article Now Book Mark Article Spinal cord tumors Other cancers that can be treated include:Breast Kidney Liver Lung Pancreas Prostate A type of skin cancer (melanoma) that involves the eye Other medical problems treated with CyberKnife are:Blood vessel problems such as arteriovenous malformations Arteriovenous malformationsA cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an abnormal connection between the arteries and veins in the brain that usually forms before birth....Read Article Now Book Mark Article Parkinson disease Parkinson diseaseParkinson disease results from certain brain cells dying. These cells help control movement and coordination. The disease leads to shaking (tremors...Read Article Now Book Mark Article Severe tremors (shaking) Some types of epilepsy EpilepsyEpilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures over time. Seizures are episodes of uncontrolled and abnormal electrical activi...Read Article Now Book Mark Article Trigeminal neuralgia (severe nerve pain of the face) Trigeminal neuralgiaTrigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a nerve disorder. It causes a stabbing or electric shock-like pain in parts of the face.Read Article Now Book Mark Article Risks SRS may damage tissue around the area being treated. As compared to other types of radiation therapy, CyberKnife treatment is much less likely to damage nearby healthy tissue.Brain swelling may occur in people who receive treatment to the brain. Swelling usually goes away without treatment. But some people may need medicines to control this swelling. In rare cases, surgery with incisions (open surgery) is needed to treat the brain swelling caused by the radiation. Before the Procedure Before the treatment, you will have MRI or CT scans. These images help your doctor determine the specific treatment area.MRIA magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan is an imaging test that uses powerful magnets and radio waves to create pictures of the body. It does not us...Read Article Now Book Mark Article CTA computed tomography (CT) scan is an imaging method that uses x-rays to create pictures of cross-sections of the body. Related tests include:Abdomin...Read Article Now Book Mark Article The day before your procedure:Do not use any hair cream or hair spray if CyberKnife surgery involves your brain. Do not eat or drink anything after midnight unless told otherwise by your doctor. The day of your procedure:Wear comfortable clothes. Bring your regular prescription medicines with you to the hospital. Do not wear jewelry, makeup, nail polish, or a wig or hairpiece. You will be asked to remove contact lenses, eyeglasses, and dentures. You will change into a hospital gown. An intravenous (lV) line will be placed into your arm to deliver contrast material, medicines, and fluids. After the Procedure Often, you can go home about 1 hour after the treatment. Arrange ahead of time for someone to drive you home. You can go back to your regular activities the next day if there are no complications, such as swelling. If you have complications, you may need to stay in the hospital overnight for monitoring.Follow instructions for how to care for yourself at home.Care for yourself at homeYou received stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or radiotherapy. This is a form of radiation therapy that focuses high-power x-rays onto a small area o...Read Article Now Book Mark Article Outlook (Prognosis) The effects of CyberKnife treatment may take weeks or months to be seen. Prognosis depends on the condition being treated. Your provider will likely monitor your progress using imaging tests such as MRI and CT scans.Open ReferencesReferencesGregoire V, Lee N, Hamoir M, Yu Y. Radiation therapy and management of the cervical lymph nodes and malignant skull base tumors. In: Flint PW, Francis HW, Haughey BH, et al, eds. Cummings Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 117.Linskey ME, Kuo JV. General and historical considerations of radiotherapy and radiosurgery. In: Winn HR, ed. Youmans and Winn Neurological Surgery. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 290.Zeman EM, Schreiber EC, Tepper JE. Basics of radiation therapy. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Kastan MB, Doroshow JH, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 27.AllVideoImagesTogRelated Information Radiation therapy(Special Topic)Acoustic neuroma(Condition)Cerebral arteriovenous malformation(Condition)Brain tumor - primary - adults(Condition)Epilepsy in children - discharge(Discharge)Epilepsy or seizures - discharge (Discharge)Stereotactic radiosurgery - discharge (Discharge)Epilepsy in adults - what to ask your doctor(Doctor Questions)Epilepsy in children - what to ask your doctor(Doctor Questions)Brain tumors - primary - InDepth(In-Depth) Review Date: 4/29/2022 Reviewed By: Todd Gersten, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, Wellington, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language. © 1997- A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. © 1997- All rights reserved. A.D.A.M. content is best viewed in IE9 or above, Firefox and Google Chrome browser.Content is best viewed in IE9 or above, Firefox and Google Chrome browser.
Stereotactic radiosurgery - CyberKnifeStereotactic radiotherapy; SRT; Stereotactic body radiotherapy; SBRT; Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy; SRS; CyberKnife; CyberKnife radiosurgery; Non-invasive neurosurgery; Brain tumor - CyberKnife; Brain cancer - CyberKnife; Brain metastases - CyberKnife; Parkinson - CyberKnife; Epilepsy - CyberKnife; Tremor - CyberKnifeStereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a form of radiation therapy that focuses high-power energy on a small area of the body. Despite its name, radiosurgery is a treatment, not a surgical procedure. Incisions (cuts) are not made on your body.More than one type of machine and system can be used to perform radiosurgery. This article is about radiosurgery using the system called CyberKnife. Description SRS targets and treats an abnormal area. The radiation is tightly focused, which minimizes damage to nearby healthy tissue.During treatment:You won't need to be put to sleep. The treatment does not cause pain. You lie on a table that slides into a machine that delivers radiation. A robotic arm controlled by a computer moves around you. It focuses radiation exactly on the area being treated. The health care providers are in another room. They can see you on cameras and hear you and talk with you on microphones. Each treatment takes about 30 minutes to 2 hours. You may receive more than one treatment session, but usually no more than five sessions. Why the Procedure Is Performed SRS is more likely to be recommended for people who are too high risk for conventional surgery. This may be due to age or other health problems. SRS may be recommended because the area to be treated is too close to vital structures inside the body. CyberKnife is often used to slow the growth of or completely destroy small, deep brain tumors that are hard to remove during conventional surgery.Tumors of the brain and nervous system that can be treated using CyberKnife include:Cancer that has spread (metastasized) to the brain from another part of the body A slow-growing tumor of the nerve that connects the ear to the brain (acoustic neuroma) Acoustic neuromaAn acoustic neuroma is a slow-growing tumor of the nerve that connects the ear to the brain. This nerve is called the vestibular cochlear nerve. It...Read Article Now Book Mark Article Pituitary tumors Pituitary tumorsA pituitary tumor is an abnormal growth in the pituitary gland. The pituitary is a small gland at the base of the brain. It regulates the body's ba...Read Article Now Book Mark Article Spinal cord tumors Other cancers that can be treated include:Breast Kidney Liver Lung Pancreas Prostate A type of skin cancer (melanoma) that involves the eye Other medical problems treated with CyberKnife are:Blood vessel problems such as arteriovenous malformations Arteriovenous malformationsA cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an abnormal connection between the arteries and veins in the brain that usually forms before birth....Read Article Now Book Mark Article Parkinson disease Parkinson diseaseParkinson disease results from certain brain cells dying. These cells help control movement and coordination. The disease leads to shaking (tremors...Read Article Now Book Mark Article Severe tremors (shaking) Some types of epilepsy EpilepsyEpilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures over time. Seizures are episodes of uncontrolled and abnormal electrical activi...Read Article Now Book Mark Article Trigeminal neuralgia (severe nerve pain of the face) Trigeminal neuralgiaTrigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a nerve disorder. It causes a stabbing or electric shock-like pain in parts of the face.Read Article Now Book Mark Article Risks SRS may damage tissue around the area being treated. As compared to other types of radiation therapy, CyberKnife treatment is much less likely to damage nearby healthy tissue.Brain swelling may occur in people who receive treatment to the brain. Swelling usually goes away without treatment. But some people may need medicines to control this swelling. In rare cases, surgery with incisions (open surgery) is needed to treat the brain swelling caused by the radiation. Before the Procedure Before the treatment, you will have MRI or CT scans. These images help your doctor determine the specific treatment area.MRIA magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan is an imaging test that uses powerful magnets and radio waves to create pictures of the body. It does not us...Read Article Now Book Mark Article CTA computed tomography (CT) scan is an imaging method that uses x-rays to create pictures of cross-sections of the body. Related tests include:Abdomin...Read Article Now Book Mark Article The day before your procedure:Do not use any hair cream or hair spray if CyberKnife surgery involves your brain. Do not eat or drink anything after midnight unless told otherwise by your doctor. The day of your procedure:Wear comfortable clothes. Bring your regular prescription medicines with you to the hospital. Do not wear jewelry, makeup, nail polish, or a wig or hairpiece. You will be asked to remove contact lenses, eyeglasses, and dentures. You will change into a hospital gown. An intravenous (lV) line will be placed into your arm to deliver contrast material, medicines, and fluids. After the Procedure Often, you can go home about 1 hour after the treatment. Arrange ahead of time for someone to drive you home. You can go back to your regular activities the next day if there are no complications, such as swelling. If you have complications, you may need to stay in the hospital overnight for monitoring.Follow instructions for how to care for yourself at home.Care for yourself at homeYou received stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or radiotherapy. This is a form of radiation therapy that focuses high-power x-rays onto a small area o...Read Article Now Book Mark Article Outlook (Prognosis) The effects of CyberKnife treatment may take weeks or months to be seen. Prognosis depends on the condition being treated. Your provider will likely monitor your progress using imaging tests such as MRI and CT scans.Open ReferencesReferencesGregoire V, Lee N, Hamoir M, Yu Y. Radiation therapy and management of the cervical lymph nodes and malignant skull base tumors. In: Flint PW, Francis HW, Haughey BH, et al, eds. Cummings Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 117.Linskey ME, Kuo JV. General and historical considerations of radiotherapy and radiosurgery. In: Winn HR, ed. Youmans and Winn Neurological Surgery. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 290.Zeman EM, Schreiber EC, Tepper JE. Basics of radiation therapy. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Kastan MB, Doroshow JH, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 27.