The Mayo Clinic Gamma Knife Experience: Indications and initial results

Objective: To review the results and expectations of contemporary stereotac tic radiosurgery. Material and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 1,033 consecutive patient s who underwent gamma knife radiosurgery at Mayo Clinic Rochester between J anuary 1990 and January 1998, Results: The number of patients undergoing radiosurgery increased from 57 i n 1990 to 216 in 1997, Of 97 patients with arteriovenous malformations who underwent follow-up angiography 2 years or more after a single radiosurgica l procedure, 72 (74%) had complete obliteration of the vascular malformatio n. Of 209 patients who underwent radiosurgery for benign tumors (schwannoma s, meningiomas, or pituitary adenomas) and had radiologic studies after 2 y ears or more of follow-up, tumor growth control was noted in 200 (96%), Tum or growth was also controlled in 90% of brain metastatic lesions at a media n of 7 months after radiosurgery, Of 20 patients with trigeminal neuralgia and follow-up for more than 2 months, 14 (70%) were free of pain after radi osurgery, Conclusion: Radiosurgery is a safe and effective management strategy for a wide variety of intracranial disorders. Use of radiosurgical treatment shou ld continue to increase as more data become available on the long-term resu lts of this procedure.