Importance of new models of GK

[PrisB_NJ]

I was diagnosed with a 2 cm right-sided AN in November.  I have met with Drs. Roland and Golfinos at NYU thus far.  Dr. Golfinos recommended that I go with Gamma Knife radiosurgery based on my age (67) and the level of speech discrimination.  I definitely do not want brain surgery (Dr. Roland suggested the translab method)so I would like to go with GK before the AN exceeds 3 cm.

My impression of NYU is that they perform more surgeries though Dr. Golfinos said that he had done 43 GKs.  I felt very comfortable with Dr. Golfinos as an experienced neurosurgeon, however, in this discussion forum, I have not seen any entries where patients have gone to NYU for radiosurgery.  Based on my research on the internet, I am not sure that the GK at NYU has been upgraded to the APS model (Automatic Positioning System).  The University of Pittsburgh appears to be the center of excellence for GK with even the latest Perfexion model.  The question is whether I should be concerned with having my radiosurgery done with the latest GK model. Based on my years in the technology business, I feel automatic processes win over manual -- as long as the program doesn't have any bugs!! I believe the APS model has been out in the marketplace for several years though I don't know how many have been installed. Has anyone else looked into this issue?  Thanks. 

[OTO]

PrisB NJ

I can't help you but I would suggest looking for the CyberKnifeSupport group website.  Their forum has a couple of doctors who respond to questions.  Even though the board is centered around Cyber Knife, those doctors are willing to answer questions about different radiation treatments.   

[sgerrard]

The link for the cyberknife site mentioned by OTO is http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/.

I would guess that the latest models don't make much difference with respect to controlling the tumor, which is of course the main thing, but they might be a little better at preserving hearing, in the same way that cyberknife may be. Pittsburgh is certainly one of the most well know GK centers, so you can't go wrong there. Like you, I tend to favor the automated systems, which is one of the things that made cyberknife attractive to me.

Steve