Gamma Knife surgery represents one of the most advanced means available to manage brain tumors; arteriovenous malformations and pain or movement disorders. The procedure is unique because, with the Gamma Knife, no surgical incision is performed to expose the target.

The Gamma Knife can destroy deep-seated blood vessel malformations in the head and brain tumors once considered inoperable. It can also eliminate pain conditions and certain movement disorders, as well as silence malfunctioning areas of the brain precisely, to stop seizures or ease disabling pain problems that have not responded to other management strategies.

The Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center installed the first North American Gamma Knife in 1987 and subsequently introduced and pioneered each succeeding generation of technological improvement. Staffed by a highly skilled and productive team, we seek to provide rapid screening, scheduling, and completion of Gamma Knife radiosurgical procedures.

During UPMC's first 20 years of experience, more than 8,500 patients have undergone radiosurgery in the department's Gamma Knife units. In May of 2004 our center added a third Gamma Knife unit, becoming the only center in the world with three operating units. In addition, the center's clinical area was recently expanded to almost twice its previous size. In 2007, the new Perfexion® Gamma Knife unit will be installed.

Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery co-directors Douglas Kondziolka, MD, and L. Dade Lunsford, MD, are world-renown experts in the field of Gamma Knife neurosurgery. In addition to their clinical expertise they lecture internationally on the subject and hold several courses throughout the year at the University of Pittsburgh that attract attendees from around the world.

For more detailed information on the Gamma Knife--including a patient introduction video and a virtual tour of the Gamma Knife suite at UPMC Presbyterian--please visit the Gamma Knife web pages in our Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery section.