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There are as many as over 120 different types of brain tumors, all of which require different types of treatment or a combination of therapies. Increasingly, advanced minimally and non-invasive treatment options are being “tailored” to meet the needs of the individual patient in the areas of neurosurgery and radiosurgery.
Brainlab is a leading provider of neuronavigation and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) technologies that are widely used to assist your doctor during the different treatment phases.
Neurosurgery with Neuronavigation
Open surgery is the most common treatment option for brain tumors. A craniotomy is performed to remove a brain tumor or to halt its progress.
Brainlab neuronavigation technology is used to plan and perform open surgery such as tumor resection or brain biopsy with greater precision. Computer assisted surgery (CAS) works similarly to a car’s navigation system by continuously tracking surgical instruments in relation to the patient’s anatomy. This gives the surgeon additional visual guidance and allows for a more successful and minimally-invasive brain tumor resection or brain biopsy.
Benefits of computer aided surgery:
- Supports minimally invasive approach
- Avoids critical brain structures
- Reduces risks and hospital stay
Radiosurgery
For the treatment of brain tumors,or lesions, which can often be inoperable due to their position and the sensitivity of the surrounding tissue, Brainlab has developed a special radiosurgery treatment system.
Novalis® radiosurgery shapes the cancer-fighting radiation beam around your brain tumor, ensuring that the prescribed treatment dose is delivered to the entire lesion in a one-time treatment or a series of treatments based on your doctor’s recommendation.
The result: Cranial lesions can now be treated with a high-dose radiation beam that is exactly tailored to match the shape of the tumor while ultimately protecting sensitive surrounding structures.
Benefits of radiosurgery:
- Offers frameless non-invasive treatment for improved patient comfort
- Treatment typically lasts just minutes
- Reduces recovery times
- Can be performed without hospitalization
Find more information here: Novalis Radiosurgery - Shaping Cancer Care
Patient Resources
Find a brain cancer specialist
Discuss the different treatment options with your physician. Ask him/her to present the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the later side effects, of each different treatment option available to you:
- Surgery
- Whole brain radiation
- Chemotherapy
- Stereotactic Radio surgery (SRS)
- Participation in clinical trials
Getting more help
To support you in the decision process about the best treatment option for your brain tumor, discuss with your family, and also refer to further valuable information sources, such as
- Internet
- Self-support groups
- Non-profit organizations
- Written information material
Take the time to be informed; this is your decision and you need to do what is most beneficial and reassuring for you. | 
