brain swelling one year after gamma knife

[maxine]

Hi,

 I am wondering if anyone here has experienced significant swelling post-Gamma knife.  My six-month MRI showed the tumor was clearly zapped but swelling.  My one-year MRI a month ago showed the tumor continues to swell and is now exerting enough mass effect on my brain that my brain is also swelling.  I'm on steroids for the swelling although they don't seem to help much. I have enough facial nerve involvement that my face is no longer symmetrical, my eye tears and/or closes when I eat, I have spasms throughout the day, and I am tipping over  a lot (despite having done three months worth of vestibular therapy starting about three months after my treatment. I am not worried that the tumor may be growing -- way too early to come to that conclusion-- but I do worry about the swelling and I hate being on the steroids so long. I also hope my doctors are keeping statistics on this as I do seem to be in the minority of patients in terms of my experience regarding Gamma knife.  Any thoughts?  Thanks.
Maxine

[Gloria Nailor]

Hello there - I just had my GK treatment in July and I don't have my first MRI since the GK until January - but the docs did tell me that the MRI at 6 mos and 12 mos may show the tumor loking bigger and that would be due to swelling from the radiation.  I am afraid that is all I know. I did have headaches for over a month after the treatment.  I took very low dose steroids for two weeks and haven't had anything other than a regular headache since. Good luck to you.

[rupert]

Hi Maxine,  If you don't mind a few questions someone might have been through a similar.  How big was your AN before treatment and was it compressing the brain stem then?  Did you have any of those side effects before treatment and,  what are your doctors saying ?

[maxine]

Thanks for your good wishes, Gloria. 

Rupert: It was 15 x 15x13 mm at time of treatment, then 6 mos. later it was 17x17x15mm, then at a year it was 2.2cmx2.0x2.0.  Before treatment I did have some balance issues, total loss of hearing in one ear, and some slight facial nerve issues but nothing like what I've got now.  And while the tumor was touching the brainstem there was no mass effect, no brain edema. I'm still optimistic things will settle down, but hopefully sooner rather than later, and before any more swelling in the brain. I should add that I did send my MRI around and no one thought either the size or location of the tumor was an issue in regard to Gamma Knife. And while I was told this was a possibility, the odds were put at something like one to three percent, which is still probably accurate.