The Gamma Knife is not a knife, per se, but a tool that allows your doctor to direct highly focused beams of radiation at a specific site in your brain to repair an abnormality or to stop the growth of a lesion or tumor.  The elegance of the treatment is that it is so precise the procedure is considered "surgery."  Using  Gamma Knife, UC Davis doctors conduct radiosurgery, operating without making an incision using detailed imaging and planning to guide radiation to the affected area.

Since 2003, our department has performed more than 300 surgeries using the Leksell Gamma Knife. Our highly trained radiation oncologists work with neurosurgeons, physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapists and nurses to make your stereotactic radiosurgery as safe and efficient as possible. 

Our Department of Radiation Oncology is recognized as a Center of Excellence for radiosurgery by the International RadioSurgery Association (IRSA), an independent organization offering education, emotional support and referrals for patients around the world.

For more information on the Gamma Knife or radiosurgery here at the UC Davis Cancer Center see the stereotactic radiosurgery page.