Gamma Knife Center and Icon at Harborview Medical Center
Being diagnosed with a brain tumor can be a life-changing event. At the Gamma Knife Center at Harborview, making your treatment as comfortable as possible is our main priority. Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a noninvasive outpatient treatment. It is an option for some patients with conditions that would typically require brain surgery or whole brain radiation.
What Is Gamma Knife Radiosurgery?
Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a procedure that requires little or no anesthesia and often offers a fast recovery time—so you can get back to your life as fast as possible. The “knife” refers to 192 precise beams of radiation that meet and create a powerful dose of concentrated radiation. It attacks tumors and abnormalities, shrinking them over time or stopping their growth altogether. This targeted approach all takes place with minimal damage to surrounding, healthy tissue.
Leksell Gamma Knife Icon System
At UW Medicine, we use the latest in Gamma Knife technology: the Leksell Gamma Knife Icon system. Patients may wear a head frame using four pins to hold the frame in place. This allows treatment to be completed in one day, and is the best option for some conditions, including when there is more than one area in the brain to be treated. Sedation is used for frame placement and individualized for patients’ needs.
With the Icon system, another option is for treatment with a specially-fitted face mask. Our mask-based treatment is painless. No pins are required, and treatment may be completed in up to 5 days.
Your care team will explain all options in detail and help you understand what is best for you
Gamma Knife’s dedicated physicians, nurses and care coordination team provide sensitive, compassionate, lifetime patient support with nearly 100% patient satisfaction. The team facilitates ongoing follow-up with patients and referring providers. We work closely with allied teams at Alvord Brain Tumor Center, University of Washington Medical Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, including the Proton Center. We can often schedule patients for consult and Gamma Knife treatment within 1-2 weeks and will expedite urgent situations.
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For questions on ICON Gamma Knife, or to learn more about radiation therapy for brain tumor, please contact our experts:
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