Regrowth after gamma knife

[sbolli]

This is my first time here so bear with me. I'm wondering if anyone has had a second and different treatment that was successful. I had gamma knife a little over 2 years ago and according to my most recent MRI the tumor is actually getting bigger. I'm a little concerned because after my GK I had a rare reaction (my left vocal cord became paralyzed). I'm hoping I don't have to go through that again so I'm wondering what other treatment options are available. I'm scheduled to see the Dr. in 3 wks and would like to be prepared to aske the right questions.

Sue

[arizonajack]

There is generally some swelling of the tumor after GK and sometimes shrinkage doesn't show until after the 2d year.

You haven't given us any of your pre- and post-GK tumor dimensions so it's hard to say whether you even have a regrowth issue or not.

[PaulW]

Hi Sue,
Not sure when you had your last MRI before the 2 Year MRI...
If it was 1 Year ago, all of the growth could have been at 12-13 months.
Swelling between 1-2 years is not unusual at all.
Seeing a larger tumour at 2 years is very common....
It doesn't necessarily mean that Gamma Knife isn't working.
There have been cases where tumours swell beyond 4 years and eventually shrink...

Worth a read
https://www.anausa.org/smf/index.php?topic=20294.0