With subtotal resection, there are viable tumor cells left and the possibility of recurrence must be taken seriously. Recurrence after radiosurgery is a different issue from microsurgery, since the goals of the two approaches are fundamentally different. The goal of microsurgery is tumor removal. The goal of radiosurgery is tumor control. Accordingly, the tumor is still there after radiosurgical treatment.
Some patients believe that when a tumor darkens at the center after treatment, it is dying.
The question becomes whether the periphery or edge of the tumor remains alive and whether it will grow. Recurrence is more likely after radiosurgery than after microsurgery. However, in some cases a subtotal removal is done in surgery. This may be done in microsurgery, for example, to avoid unacceptable nerve damage. With subtotal resection, there are viable tumor cells left and the possibility of recurrence must be taken seriously.