Incidence of Local Pin-Site Inflammation After Gamma Knife Procedure

•A prospective, nonrandomized observational study of pin-site inflammation.•Subjects were followed for 1 week, and pin sites were evaluated separately.•A total of 33.6% of subjects were noted to have localized inflammation; 1 had infection.•Pin-site inflammation after radiosurgery is more prevalent than expected.

Little is known about the localized inflammation that patients experience after gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery (GKSR) or a stereotactic biopsy (SB) procedure. This study was conducted to gather and compare baseline data of local pin-site inflammation in patients with GKSR and SB in the early postprocedural period. This was a prospective, nonrandomized observational study of current practice. Eligible patients were consented and surveyed in-person or via phone, 24 hr and 7 days after procedure, regarding inflammation at pin sites. This study included a total of 59 subjects aged 26-77 years. Inflammation of at least one pin site was seen in 37 subjects. One subject developed a superficial infection requiring oral antibiotics. There was no statistical difference in inflammation between SB and GKSR subjects. There was a higher rate of inflammation at 1 week for frontal pin sites. Localized inflammation was more common than hypothesized after GKSR and SB. Patients should be educated about pin-site inflammation after GKSR. Early post-treatment follow-up should be performed and include assessment for pin-site inflammation. Pin-site inflammation that persists after 7 days should be visually assessed for possible localized infection.