This is a way we treat a tangle of blood vessels (called an "AVM") in your brain. It uses focused beams of radiation to shrink and destroy the AVM without needing an incision.
How is it done? You'll most likely be awake for the procedure. You're given medicine to make you feel relaxed and comfortable. We numb your scalp and secure your head with a frame or a mask. Then, you'll have one or more imaging scans. This gives us a detailed view of your brain. We study the images to find and target your AVM.
Now, you lie down and your head goes into the radiosurgery machine. There are a few types of machines, but they work in similar ways. The machine sends beams of radiation into your brain. There are several beams, and they come from different angles.
On its own, each beam is too weak to damage your cells. But when we focus all the beams at a single point, they have enough power to destroy the bad tissue. So we focus the beams on your AVM. We won't harm the healthy tissue around it.
When the radiosurgery is done, we watch you in a recovery room. You may have some sore spots on your scalp. You may also have a headache and nausea. If so, we give you medicine for these. Follow your care plan for a safe recovery.