Boston

[v357139]

Hi all.  I have someone looking for radiosurgeons in the Boston area.  Does anyone have a name?  Preferably someone well known for this or who they had a good result with.  Thanks.

[skier]

Hi,
I'm in New England, and when first diagnosed in Oct 2021, I spent some time trying to find radiosurgery options and expertise in the Boston area.

If the searcher looks back at my oldest posts, they will see a few comments from others when I asked for recommendations, but I never got very much direct advice on current options.

Ultimately, I wanted surgery for a fast-growing tumor in fall 2023, and I went to UCSD for the quality of care and expertise. Happy about that decision for myself.

I did read on the discussion board that Tufts in Boston area had expertise in Gammaknife radiosurgery and in surgery. That was where I was leaning towards. Searching on "tufts" or "carl heilman" here shows a lot of very positive comments. Tufts Acoustic Neuroma team had a fairly simple route to a consult, based on their website. (I didn't have a consult myself, so that's all I know.)

Dr. Carl Heilman: https://www.tuftsmedicine.org/doctor/carl-heilman
Gamma Knife: https://www.tuftsmedicine.org/services-treatments/neurosurgery/gamma-knife-surgery#conditions

Hope this is a little helpful.
Best,
Skier

[DanFouratt]

Radiation is a "simple" process.  I was one and done, other take a few treatments.  Regardless, both are a sort time in overall commitment.  You may want to open up your search territory. 

Good Luck in your decision journey.

Dan

[v357139]

Thanks all I will pass it along.

[toliaman]

Hi! I was recently suggested 2 surgeons for Acoustic Neuroma by Boston physicians (I work at a hospital). Dr. Bob Carter and Dr. Fred Barker - both work at MGH. They both have a lot of experience in general, but especially with treating Acoustic Neuromas. We recently went to Dr. Carter for my Mom (who has AN) and he explained to us that different doctors and hospitals have different schools of thought for treating AN - surgery or radiation. MGH belongs to the “Surgery” school of thought. So if you do decide to go with surgery, you’ll be in excellent hands (as they handle a large volume). Alternatively, if you choose to go with radiation, they will refer you to experts that belong to that school of thought (example would be NYU). We had an excellent experience with Dr. Carter who patiently walked us through it all and helped answer ALL our questions. Hope that helps, and good luck!

[Berta]

Hi-
I was diagnosed at Mass Eye and Ear and after 5 years referred to Dr. Fred Barker at MGH who is a national leader in AN surgery. He was very clear that I could have surgery if I opted, but that for me, I could also have radiotherapy with the same outcome. In otherwords, even though he's a surgeon, he wasn't pushing surgery. I had a consult at Brigham & Women's Hospital's Skull base Neurosurgery Program. The neurosurgeon there told me "if you were a member of my family I would recommend waiting and having radiotherapy when it becomes necessary". I'm now working on understanding the different types of radiotherapy (GK, Linac, proton beam, etc.) so that I can decide what I want to do in a year or so....