Most Searched
We offer innovative, outpatient-based noninvasive radiation therapies and radiosurgery for treating brain and spine conditions.
Telehealth appointments are available.
At the USC Stereotactic Radiosurgery Center, we provide innovative, outpatient-based treatments for a wide range of brain and spine conditions, including treating thousands of patients with benign and malignant brain tumors, spine tumors and brain metastases. We offer the most advanced, effective radiation treatments available. We are also the first center in Southern California to offer Elekta Gamma Knife Esprit, a new innovation in Gamma Knife radiosurgery. All of our noninvasive procedures are performed without an incision or general anesthesia and without the need for a hospital stay.
Stereotactic is a three-dimensional positioning and measurement system. Radiosurgery is a specialized form of treatment that allows for precise delivery of radiation to a targeted tumor or structure. The target is treated with similar precision as a surgeon would in a surgery, and radiosurgery can treat tumors without harming surrounding neural tissues.
Radiosurgery is a very safe alternative to open neurological surgery and conventional whole-brain radiation. It is a great option for patients for whom standard surgical techniques are not appropriate due to illness or advanced age, and it offers an important alternative to whole-brain radiation that preserves cognition. It can also be used in combination with conventional surgery and chemotherapy as well as to treat residual or recurrent tumors.
We have been among the pioneers of radiosurgical treatments for more than 30 years. Our program remains at the forefront of innovative applications of radiosurgical treatments for brain, spine and systemic diseases.
Using a team approach for your diagnosis and treatment, our multidisciplinary team offers you the most advanced and sophisticated radiosurgical treatments available. Every week, neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists and experienced physicists meet to determine the best treatment options for our patients. The specialists in our program include physicians from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Keck Hospital of USC. Together, they have performed thousands of radiosurgery procedures.
Our physicians are able to provide you with the best possible course of treatment. Each radiosurgery technology is designed to deliver the most favorable results, while minimizing both side effects and length of treatment.
Many of the innovations in stereotactic radiosurgery were contributed by members of Keck Medicine of USC. Because we are experts in the latest available treatments, we make it possible to choose the most appropriate treatment type for you, rather than choosing the only treatment available.
The USC Stereotactic Radiosurgery Center is considered one of the nation’s leading centers for incision-free techniques in the treatment of brain and spine tumors. Our team has achieved excellent results treating a variety of brain tumors, as published in literature.
Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors by damaging a cell’s DNA, making it impossible for cells to continue to grow and divide. Some procedures are conducted directly on tumors that have been diagnosed, while other procedures are conducted to treat remnants of tumors or residual areas of tumors that remain after traditional surgery.
The radiation directly damages the cell’s DNA or, alternatively, creates free radicals within the cell that cause damage to the DNA. Since radiation can also harm the DNA of healthy cells, experienced specialists must ensure that each treatment plan is devised and implemented to minimize the exposure of normal tissue during radiation therapy.
Stereotactic radiosurgery can treat a wide range of cancerous and noncancerous central nervous system disorders, including brain metastases, meningiomas, gliomas, pituitary tumors, acoustic neuromas, arteriovenous malformations and trigeminal neuralgia.
The USC Stereotactic Radiosurgery Center has decades of expertise using the most advanced radiotherapy and radiosurgery technologies available. We offer radiation therapy either alone or in conjunction with surgery and/or chemotherapy.
We provide the most advanced, effective radiation treatments available, including:
All stereotactic radiosurgery procedures are done on an outpatient basis. Hospital stays are brief, if they are necessary at all. For most patients, the procedure requires a treatment session lasting from an hour to a few hours. Depending on the patient, treatment may require one or multiple sessions.
First, you will consult with your doctors and the stereotactic radiosurgery team to plan your procedure. Some patients who prefer or request it may also receive a sedation anesthesia upon arrival for the procedure, but will remain conscious for the radiation delivery portion of the procedure.
Patients with trigeminal neuralgia and arteriovenous malformations will be fitted with a stereotactic head frame, which serves as a measuring guide and helps keep your head in a fixed position to ensure maximum treatment accuracy. The frame’s external axis is used to determine coordinates for targeting the tumor or lesion. For the majority of our other patients who prefer not to use a head frame, however, we also offer our Elekta Esprit mask device, which eliminates the need for a head frame.
Next, you will receive an MRI, CT or angiographic scan. Data from the imaging study is transferred into the state-of-the-art treatment planning computer, which enables your treatment team (a neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist, radiation physicist and technicians, and, when necessary, a neurologist) to tailor distribution of the radiation dose to conform specifically to the mass and size of the tumor or lesion. Completing the treatment plan can take several hours, depending on the complexity and location of the disease, and can be done in advance during the pre-planning stage before the day of treatment.
Most patients experience minimal recovery time and can return to normal activities almost immediately.
Clinical Trials
Patients have the option of taking part in clinical trials being conducted at Keck Medical Center of USC and our affiliate locations. While clinical trial participation is voluntary, with possible access to novel therapeutics, participation does help provide invaluable information for future treatments, and possibly a cure in the future.
