Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov)
Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov)
Israel, Tel Aviv
Felix Bokstein
46 years of experience
Clinic is certified :
Brain tumor treatment cost in Israel ranges from $38,500 to $58,000 for surgical removal, while essential diagnostics like a Brain FDG PET typically run $1,600 to $2,300. Total expenses depend on tumor complexity, the chosen surgical approach, and the facility tier. Patients often save up to 90% compared to US prices. Top treatment centers are located in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Herzliya.
Typical Brain Tumor Treatment Costs in Israel
Bookimed Expert Insight: Patients requiring complex skull base surgeries should prioritize centers with high surgical volumes. Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) performs 34,000 operations annually with a 90% oncology success rate. For pediatric cases, Hadassah Medical Center offers specialized neuro-oncology directed by Forbes-listed experts. Private options like Assuta Medical Center provide faster access to JCI-accredited care for time-sensitive tumor resections.
| Israel | Turkey | Austria | |
| Radiation therapy for brain tumor | from $27,000 | from $2,000 | from $15,000 |
| Proton-beam therapy | from $48,000 | from $70,000 | from $80,000 |
| Gamma Knife for brain tumor | from $19,500 | from $4,750 | from $25,000 |
| Gamma Knife | from $13,800 | from $6,300 | from $32,000 |
| CyberKnife for brain tumor | from $17,800 | from $4,750 | from $35,000 |
Prof. Zvi Cohen is Director of the Neurosurgery Department and the Neuro-Oncology Unit at Sheba Medical Center. He is a neurosurgeon and neuro-oncology expert. He was included in Forbes Israel’s Best Doctors 2025. He leads clinical research on drug therapies for malignant brain tumors. He also founded Sheba’s brain tumor tissue bank.
He is board-certified in neurosurgery. He trained at Tel Aviv University. He completed fellowships in neuroradiology at Beth Israel and in neurosurgical oncology at MD Anderson. His practice covers complex brain, pituitary, spine, and spinal cord tumors. He has expertise in stereotactic biopsies, image-guided resections, intraoperative MRI, navigation systems, and radiosurgery. He is a member of the Society for Neuro-Oncology and the Israeli Association of Neurological Surgeons.
Dr. Bokstein leads the Neurooncology Clinic at Sourasky Medical Center with over 46 years of experience of specialized experience.
Professor Shlomi Constantini is a leading neurosurgeon specializing in pediatric and adult brain tumors, with advanced training across Europe.
Prof. Zvi Ram leads the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies – a role reflecting world-recognized expertise in complex brain surgery.
Israeli neurosurgeons receive extensive international training at premier institutions like the Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital. They utilize advanced technologies including the ROSA robot and intraoperative MRI for maximum precision. Centers like Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) and Hadassah maintain prestigious JCI accreditation standards.
Bookimed Expert Insight: Israeli neurosurgery stands out because department heads often hold concurrent teaching positions at top global universities. For example, Dr. Itzhak Fried at Sourasky also teaches at UCLA and Yale. This connection ensures patients access surgical techniques that may still be in clinical trial phases elsewhere.
Patient Consensus: Patients emphasize that the use of intraoperative imaging and neuronavigation is standard in highly successful cases. Many note that Israeli innovation often stems from advanced military-medical technology crossovers.
Israel reports an 85% to 90% technical success rate for brain tumor removals. Five-year survival rates reach 94% for meningiomas and 80% for medulloblastomas. Advanced technologies like intraoperative MRI and functional mapping help maintain a 97.7% survival rate within the first 30 days post-surgery.
Bookimed Expert Insight: High-volume centers like Sourasky Medical Center, which performs 34,000 annual operations, often achieve oncology success rates near 90%. Data suggests patients benefit from specialized hubs where doctors like Dr. Margalit Navo have performed over 170 successful skull base surgeries. This concentration of expertise in complex cases explains why Israeli centers frequently exceed standard survival prognoses for aggressive tumors.
Patient Consensus: Patients often report exceeding their initial home-country prognoses, particularly with glioblastoma progression-free survival. Many emphasize the speed of recovery, noting full functional return within weeks after minimally invasive skull base procedures.
Israel offers advanced non-invasive radiosurgery for inoperable or residual brain tumors using Gamma Knife and CyberKnife technologies. These systems deliver concentrated radiation with sub-millimeter precision. Facilities like Sourasky Medical Center and Hadassah Medical Center utilize these tools to treat complex lesions without surgical incisions.
Bookimed Expert Insight: Data shows that choosing between Gamma Knife and CyberKnife in Israel often depends on the tumor's location near critical structures. While Hadassah Medical Center provides the Leksell Gamma Knife Icon for specialized intracranial cases, Sourasky Medical Center maintains a high 90% success rate in oncology by combining these radiosurgery tools with AI-driven digital imaging for real-time tracking.
Patient Consensus: Patients report excellent results with the Leksell Gamma Knife Icon, noting significant tumor shrinkage of up to 70% with minimal side effects. Many emphasize the benefit of English-speaking coordinators who help navigate these advanced treatments without requiring long-term hospitalization.
Brain tumor treatment in Israel typically requires a 14 to 30-day stay depending on surgery complexity. Most patients spend 5 to 7 days in the hospital followed by 2 weeks of local outpatient monitoring. Modern neurosurgical centers focus on early mobilization to speed up cognitive and physical recovery.
Bookimed Expert Insight: Israeli neurosurgery departments like Sourasky (Ichilov) prioritize functional mapping during surgery to reduce post-operative deficits. Data shows that clinics performing over 34,000 operations annually often move patients to light rehabilitation within 48 hours. This aggressive early mobilization approach frequently shortens the total recovery window compared to more conservative protocols.
Patient Consensus: Patients emphasize budgeting an extra 2 weeks for the initial stay to handle potential delays like post-op swelling. Many suggest booking flexible lodging in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem to accommodate last-minute changes in the rehabilitation schedule.
Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa are the primary Israeli hubs for international brain tumor care. Leading centers like Sourasky Medical Center and Hadassah Medical Center hold JCI accreditation. They specialize in complex neurosurgery using awake craniotomy, Gamma Knife, and advanced 3D neuronavigation technologies.
Bookimed Expert Insight: Sourasky Medical Center stands out for its concentration of specialized leadership. While most hospitals have a general neurosurgery head, Sourasky features dedicated directors for neuro-oncology, functional neurosurgery, and endoscopic neurosurgery. This granular specialization is rare even in large international centers. It allows patients with specific needs, like skull base tumors or functional mapping for epilepsy, to work with a department head who focuses exclusively on that niche rather than a generalist.
Patient Consensus: Patients often choose Israeli centers for second opinions due to the speed of scheduling consultations compared to North American facilities. They emphasize the value of having translation support when navigating these high-volume hospital systems.
Major Israeli medical centers provide comprehensive language support through dedicated international departments and professional medical interpreters. Facilities like Sourasky Medical Center and Hadassah Medical Center offer real-time interpretation for consultations. Most clinical staff are fluent in English and Russian to assist international patients.
Bookimed Expert Insight: While English is widely spoken by senior neurosurgeons like Dr. Zvi Ram or Dr. Andry Key, nursing staff availability varies. Private facilities like Assuta Medical Center often prioritize dedicated coordinators who bridge these communication gaps during post-operative recovery. Bookimed manages these logistics by ensuring a coordinator is available to handle all clinic communication and scheduling.
Patient Consensus: Patients note that while doctors speak excellent English, using translation apps helps when communicating with overnight nursing staff. It is important to have all medical records translated into English or Hebrew before arrival to avoid admission delays.
Israeli oncology centers frequently combine surgery with targeted therapies and clinical trials to enhance treatment outcomes. For complex cases, surgeons like Professor Zvi Ram at Sourasky Medical Center specialize in gene-based therapies and developing new surgical techniques specifically for brain cancer.
Bookimed Expert Insight: Patient volume at Israeli centers often dictates trial availability. While Sourasky Medical Center treats 400,000 patients yearly with a 90% oncology success rate, Hadassah serves 1,000,000 and frequently leads university-based research. This high volume allows these institutions to host multiple simultaneous trials for glioblastoma and rare brain tumors.
Patient Consensus: Patients note that molecular testing for IDH or MGMT status is essential during surgery to qualify for immunotherapy. It is vital to ensure the surgical team preserves enough tumor tissue for these specific clinical trial screenings.