Gamma Knife

Gamma Knife radiosurgery treats patients with brain abnormalities or abnormalities that are too close to delicate structures and blood vessels. Minimally invasive, it requires little or no anesthesia, offers a fast recovery time, and is safer and less costly than surgery or full-brain radiation.

Gamma Knife technology has been used to treat brain abnormalities and cancers since 1968. Despite its name, it is not a knife or scalpel, and the procedure does not require the opening of the skull. Instead, precisely focused beams of radiation are directed to the area of the brain requiring treatment. Treatment is simple, painless, and straightforward. Patients are usually treated in one session and can normally return home shortly afterward.

UW Medicine, is one of the first sites in the country to offer the latest in Gamma Knife technology – the Leksell Model 4C – at the Gamma Knife Center, located at UW Medicine Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.