Radiosurgery/Radiotherapy

Radiosurgery/Radiotherapy at Brigham and Women’s Hospital offers a multidisciplinary and innovative stereotactic approach to treating tumors and vascular disorders affecting the nervous system. A team of neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists and physicists work together to provide each patient with the most appropriate, effective and safe treatment available. 

What is Radiosurgery?

Radiosurgery is a surgical procedure in which narrow beams of radiation are targeted to a precisely defined volume of tissue within the brain. This highly focused and effective dose of radiation is given in small increments over several weeks. The manner of the procedure avoids radiation to surrounding brain structures and allow normal brain tissue to recover, while the tumor tissue is less likely to recover.

What is Radiotherapy?

Radiotherapy uses stereotactic techniques to accurately aim fractioned doses of gamma rays or x-rays at a target. This treatment administers small doses precisely on tumor tissue over a few days in an effort to avoid radiation to surrounding brain tissue and allow normal brain tissue to recover.

Diseases We Treat

Our BWH Neurosurgeons are leaders in the clinical applications of stereotactically-directed radiation for a wide spectrum of neurological disorders.

Brain Tumors:

• Glioblastoma
• Anaplastic astrocytoma
• Gliomas / Astrocytoma
• Oligodendroglioma
• Ependymoma
• Pilocytic astrocytoma
• Meningioma
• Pituitary tumors
• Pineal region tumors
• Acoustic neuroma
• Neuromas of the cranial nerves
• Glomus jugulare tumor
• Metastatic brain tumors

Vascular Abnormalities:

• Arteriovenous malformations
• Cavernous malformations

Skull Base Tumors:

• Invasive squamous and basal cell carcinoma
• Chordoma
• Chondrosarcoma
• Esthesioneuroblastoma

Functional Problems:

• Trigeminal neuralgia
• Parkinson's disease
• Essential tremor
• Obsessive compulsive disorder

Ocular Tumors:

• Uveal melanoma
• Orbital metastases
• Optic nerve sheath meningioma

Contact Us

Department of Neurosurgery
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115
New Patient Phone: (617) 525-8166
Established Patient Phone and Fax: Contact Us