The advantages of Gamma Knife are high precision, elimination of tumors and protection of normal tissues; the disadvantages are limited to smaller lesions, and invasive positioning of head nails is still required.
Gamma Knife belongs to a kind of radiation therapy, which can use auxiliary devices to focus the gamma rays emitted by cobalt 60 on the tumor locally, while the surrounding normal tissues receive a smaller dose. Compared with traditional external radiation, high doses can be achieved to the target lesion while protecting the surrounding normal tissues.
The disadvantage of Gamma Knife is that it is mainly applied to lesions <3cm in the head, and the irradiation dose difference between the center and the edge of the target area is large, which can easily lead to necrosis in the center. Moreover, head nailing is required to localize the lesion before Gamma Knife treatment, which makes it more difficult to treat the lesion in separate sessions. Gamma Knife is more expensive and difficult to operate, and many primary hospitals are unable to carry out.
It is recommended that patients who need radiotherapy should consult their specialists in time and choose the appropriate treatment modality according to their professional opinion, condition and personal wishes.