Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) uses many precisely focused radiation beams to treat tumors and other problems in the brain, neck and other parts of the body.

It is not surgery in the traditional sense because there's no incision. Instead, SRS uses 3-D imaging to target high doses of radiation to the affected area with minimal impact on the surrounding healthy tissue.
Like other forms of radiation, stereotactic radiosurgery works by damaging the DNA of the targeted cells. The affected cells then lose the ability to reproduce, which causes tumors to shrink.

Stereotactic radiosurgery of the brain and spine is typically completed in a single session. Body radiosurgery is used to treat lung, liver, adrenal and other soft tissue tumors, and treatment typically involves multiple sessions.

When doctors use stereotactic radiosurgery to treat tumors in areas of the body other than the brain, it's sometimes called stereotactic body radiotherapy (SRBT) or stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR).