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MUSC recently updated its stereotactic radiosurgery program to bring advanced flexibility, precision and safety to the treatment of certain brain, head and neck tumors.

Since 1992, MUSC has performed radiosurgery, a noninvasive, outpatient procedure that delivers precise doses of radiation to help control the growth of lesions such as metastatic tumors, vascular malformation and acoustic neuromas. Radiosurgery may be performed in a single treatment or repeated treatments, which deliver reduced radiation doses during a period of time for safety reasons.

While radiosurgery can't replace conventional craniotomy, it provides an alternative for patients who are at high risk for traditional surgery. For example, radiosurgery may be a better option for patients with lesions located near critical brain structures, or for those patients who also suffer from heart or kidney disease.

Radiosurgery also can complement conventional surgery, attacking a portion of a lesion that may remain after surgery.

In addition to conventional radiosurgery, MUSC recently began treating patients with the BrainLAB system, an advanced radiosurgery system that offers frameless positioning and a micromultileaf collimator. Traditional, frame-based stereotactic radiosurgery remains the most accurate method and is the choice for most patients. However, frameless positioning allows repeated treatments without surgical insertion of skull pins, and will make treatment for small children more feasible. Additionally, the micromultileaf collimator precisely matches and targets the shape of irregular tumors, increasing the safety to surrounding tissue when compared to conventional radiosurgery.

“BrainLAB offers the most technically advanced form of radiosurgery available,” said Stephen Haines, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery. “We went through a detailed quality control process to ensure that we're delivering the safest and most up-to-date form of radiosurgery. At one time, patients with brain tumors had to seek such treatment out-of-state. Now, patients will benefit from our technology and multidisciplinary team approach. We encourage referring physicians to call and work closely with us if radiosurgery will be a part of a patient's continuing comprehensive care.”

For consultation or referrals, call MUSC Health Connection at 792-1414.

BrainLAB Benefits

• Noninvasive procedure
• Outpatient treatment
• Frameless positioning
• Precisely matches shape and size of lesions
• Safely delivers single of multiple treatments

Editor's note: The article is reprinted from MDialogue newsletter, a physician liaison program publication.