Benign brain tumors grow slowly and rarely recur after removal. But still, they are dangerous because if left untreated, they reach large sizes, and can cause severe complications and neurological symptoms. Most neoplasms of the central nervous system are subject to surgical removal. In Germany, you can undergo a neurosurgical operation with minimal health risk.
Content
- Surgical treatment
- Radiation therapy
The cost of a benign brain tumor treatment depends on where you undergo treatment, who carries out your treatment and what methods are used. We will help you select a clinic with the best ratio price and quality of medical services.
It is better to undergo treatment in a clinic whose doctors specialize in brain tumor therapy and achieve significant progress: the University Hospital Frankfurt am Main, the University Hospital Muenster, the Charite University Hospital Berlin.
Leave your request for brain tumor treatment on the Booking Health website. We will select a specialized hospital, organize your trip to Germany, take care of accommodation, interpreting services, and medical insurance. A personal medical coordinator will contact you regarding any possible questions.
Surgical treatment
The mainstay of treatment for benign brain tumors is a neurosurgical intervention. The doctor performs a craniotomy, dissects the brain tissue, and then removes the neoplasm using a scalpel, scissors, ultrasound, radiowave and other instruments. As a rule, a benign tumor has clear boundaries. It is easily distinguished from normal tissue so that doctors can perform a complete removal of the neoplasm. It rarely recurs after surgery.
It is important for doctors to remove the tumor, but also to do it in a way that does not aggravate the neurological deficit. German neurosurgeons have many techniques that ensure the safety of brain surgery:
- preoperative diagnostics: MRI, electrophysiological studies;
- powerful surgical microscopes;
- neuronavigation systems that allow the doctors to continue a safe route to the tumor;
- intraoperative imaging of the brain with ultrasound or MRI is used;
- If necessary, operations are performed on awake patients, under the guidance of electrophysiological studies, to avoid damage to functionally significant areas.
Radiation therapy
Most patients do not require radiation therapy for benign formations. Surgery is considered the primary treatment method.
Radiation therapy can sometimes be used as an alternative to surgery and is also used after surgery.
Adjuvant (postoperative) radiation therapy is required only in cases where the doctor was unable to remove the tumor completely. In such cases, the residual tumor is irradiated.
Even in case of incomplete removal of the benign neoplasm, doctors often do not start radiation therapy immediately but monitor the patient. Only if there are signs of progression of the disease the residual tumor is destroyed by radiation.
In the following cases, radiation therapy can be used instead of surgery:
- deep location of the tumor, making its removal unsafe;
- location of the neoplasm near functionally important areas of the brain;
- small tumor size – the smaller it is, the safer the irradiation since there is no risk of the formation of an extensive zone of necrosis in the brain;
- weakened state of the patient's health, medical contraindications for surgery;
- refusal of the surgery;
The course of radiation therapy usually lasts about one and a half months. The patient undergoes therapy 5 days a week. Hypofractionated radiation therapy is also used in Germany: it is possible to destroy a neoplasm in just a few sessions.
Stereotactic radiation therapy and radiosurgery are carried out on state-of-the-art linear accelerators, including a robot-assisted installation Gamma Knife. It allows the doctors to destroy small neoplasms with clear boundaries within just a single session. It is no longer necessary to fix a rigid frame on the head with screws to the periosteum, as a frameless stereotaxis is used, which makes it possible to direct radiation very accurately, from different sides, at different angles.
Today everyone can undergo benign brain tumor diagnostics and benign brain tumor treatment in Germany. The international medical tourism operator Booking Health facilitates this process. Before traveling, you can compare the treatment cost in different German clinics' neurosurgical departments and book the medical program at the most favorable prices. The Booking Health specialists will fully arrange your trip.
Authors:
The article was edited by medical experts, board-certified doctors Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova and Dr. Farrukh Ahmed. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article, you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!
Sources:
National Library of Medicine
Healthline
Sience Direct
