While I wait for my 6 mo follow-up MRI I have been researching Gamma Knife vs Cyber Knife treatments. What I noticed was that most clinics promote whichever technology they have, often touting its advantages over the technology they don't have. Actual research comparing the two is minimal, as far as I have been able to find. What research there is, including the ANA survey, seems to suggest a small possible advantage of CK in terms of hearing preservation. It's not clear yet if that slight advantage will hold up over time.
Of course, one never chooses merely a technology, but an entire treatment team. So it gets even harder to compare one set of results with another.
GK vs CK is just one of those many AN issues that a compulsive person (like me) can go crazy trying to figure out.
Then I discovered one place that uses both GK and CK in treating AN patients. It's the Barrow Acoustic Neuroma Center in Phoenix. I sent a copy of my MRI to them and had a very helpful conversation with Dr. Peter Weisskopf, one of the few individuals who personally uses both GK and CK treatments for AN patients. In my case he said it probably did not make much difference which I chose, in terms of outcomes, but that for other patients there could be a clear advantage of one over the other.
Therefore, I offer this suggestion to anyone who is leaning toward radiosurgery but who is torn between GK and CK: Contact Barrow and get a consultation with Dr. Weisskopf.
If/when the times comes for treatment for me, I now know for certain that I will go to Mayo for GK. Decision made and done with. No more compulsing!
