Stereotactic radiosurgery: new practice frontiers for the perioperative nurse

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SR) is a technology that blends the skill and technology of several disciplines such as neurosurgery, radiation oncology, radiology, engineering, medical physics, and nursing. The improvement of neurological imaging that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s provided diagnosticians with the technical foundation necessary to support parallel advancement of SR. Today, SR is used to treat pituitary tumors, meningiomas, acoustic neuromas, arteriovenous malformations, metastatic tumors of the brain, craniopharyngiomas, and residual gliomas. Participation in SR procedures provides the perioperative nurse with an opportunity to move beyond the walls of the operating suite into the exciting world of neurological imaging and radiotherapy.