The advantages:
- As open surgery is not involved, post-operative complications are eliminated as is the need for lengthy recuperation Most patients return to normal activity, even work, within one to three days. It is the policy of The London Gamma Knife Centre and Barts and The London NHS Trust for patients to stay in hospital for one night following their gamma knife treatment for observation.
- Results for many conditions have been shown to be comparable, if not superior, to those of conventional neurosurgery and radiotherapy.
- Treatment is on a day case basis, rather than as a series of many treatments over several weeks (as usually required in general radiotherapy) and can be repeated if necessary, although this is unusual.< /li>