Radiosurgical Thalamotomy

Tremor is a common movement disorder that can be disabling, and its initial treatment is in the form of medical therapies. Often patients are refractory and seek surgical intervention. Treatment options for these patients include surgical radiofrequency thalamotomy and deep brain stimulation. There are a subset of patients who, for various reasons, are not candidates for open surgical procedures, or who opt to avoid them. For these patients, radiosurgical thalamotomy is a safe and useful alternative. Herein, we provide a review of the use of radiosurgical thalamotomy for the treatment of medically refractory tremor by discussing its history, defining the technique and its indications, evaluating its efficacy, and exploring its complications and shortcomings.