when my avm was discovered they were going to send me to Canada for the gamma but then they discovered it was too deep so I had the crainiotomy
Gamma knife , which I just had , is basically a form of radio surgery where radiation is shot from various nodes and focused on a single point. The “beams” (gamma rays) individually do no (or little) harm when they pass through the cells, but where they come together they do the necessary nasty.
It’s painless and relatively safe (although slow working).
I am surprised they would go for a craniotomy for a deep AVM …I was under the impression they’d ideally rather try radio-surgery than micro-surgery in such a case. I stand corrected however as I’m very newly diagnosed myself.
From my understanding, surgeons prefer gamma-knife for deep AVMs. Perhaps there was another complication so that the gamma-knife was too risky. Either, Tristan’s explanation is correct. You can also read about it on wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_knife
I had Cyberknife … Which is almost the same as Gama. I was told because it was to deep it was the way to go . Now you have me not sure . The thing I liked was there were no screws , and after 2 hours I went home .No stay in the hospital .
well i had my surgery in 1991 and they weren’t so far advanced into the gamma-like i said they were going to have to send me to Canada just to have it. my avm was also too big for it, they said. it took 40 hrs. of brain surgery to get it all.
Gamma knife is just what Tristan explains. I have been hit with radiation with gamma knife twice and once with the Proton Beam Therapy in Boston, MS. So which means that I can not be hit again. I have been hit with radiation three times to this one particular spot in the middle of my brain, my AVM. Which means that I can not be hit again unless it bleeds again. I have a bout another seven years to find out if it bleeds again. Cause the second time it bled it was seventeen years after my first proton beam therapy. I had gotten that one in '81 and it bled again in '98 after I came out of the military in '97. Ah well… It is still in me. The last time I was zapped was in '03. And of course to the neurosurgeon last year it hasn’t shrunk. But it may have stregnthened it. Ah well. Just have to wait and see.
Believe me. I do not let much pass me bye. As far as doing crazy things in my lifetime. But I just have to live with it. I am a bad boy or man. Of course I have a boy of my own thru my ex. But I still party my ass off. Like my last day is today and never forget that. And hope that I just join the Big Man in Heaven.
I have had twelve screws put in my skull ove the past several years. You can not really notice that I had them though. The scar marks go away if you vaseline them and keep them moisturized.
Yea, I don’t understand why your avm would be too deep for gamma, mine is near the center of my head and i had gamme. maybe yours is too large? it typically doesnt work well on avms larger than 3x3cm
i could not have a crainiotomy because of its location (although i would have prefered it i think in the long run…)