Repeated transsphenoidal surgery to treat recurrent or residual pituitary adenoma

2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 1004-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald J. Benveniste ◽  
Wesley A. King ◽  
Jane Walsh ◽  
Jacob S. Lee ◽  
Bradley N. Delman ◽  
...  

Object. In this paper the authors describe the indications for and the results and complications of repeated transsphenoidal surgery (RTSS) to treat recurrent or residual pituitary adenoma. Methods. A retrospective review was conducted of 96 consecutive patients who underwent RTSS to treat recurrent or residual pituitary adenoma. Ninety-six patients underwent RTSS: 42 to treat a recurrent or residual pituitary mass and 54 to treat a recurrent or persistent hormone hypersecretion. There was no case of perioperative death and there was a 1% incidence of major complications. Postoperative endocrinological deficiencies were uncommon unless planned total hypophysectomy was performed to treat Cushing disease. Clinical remission occurred in 93% of patients undergoing RTSS to treat a tumor mass, and 15% of patients initially experienced remission only to face a relapse after a mean of 32 months. Endocrinological remission occurred in 57% of patients undergoing RTSS to treat hormone hypersecretion; most of these patients had Cushing disease. Thirty-five percent of patients with an initial endocrinological remission experienced a relapse of their symptoms after a mean of 31 months (thus, 37% of patients achieved sustained endocrinological remission). We failed to identify factors that accurately predicted initial symptom remission or delayed relapse following RTSS. Ten patients in our series eventually underwent a third transsphenoidal surgery without major complications. Conclusions. Repeated transsphenoidal surgery is a more effective treatment for recurrent or residual mass than it is for hormone hypersecretion and has acceptable rates of morbidity and mortality. If hypophysectomy is not performed, endocrinological deficiencies are unlikely following RTSS.

2004 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 634-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Höybye ◽  
Eva GrenbäcK ◽  
Marja Thorén ◽  
Anna-Lena Hulting ◽  
Lars Lundblad ◽  
...  

Object. Cushing disease is a rare disorder. Because of their small size the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)—producing tumors are often not detectable on neuroimaging studies. To obtain a cure with transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) may therefore be difficult. In this report the authors present 10 years of experience in the treatment of patients with Cushing disease who were followed up with the same protocol and treated by the same surgeon. Methods. Thirty-four patients, 26 of them female and eight of them male (mean age 40 years, range 13–74 years) were studied. All had obvious clinical signs and symptoms of Cushing syndrome. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed in all patients, and inferior petrosal sinus (IPS) sampling was done in 14. In 12 patients MR imaging indicated a pituitary tumor; 10 were microadenomas and two were macroadenomas. In six patients with no visible tumor, the results of IPS sampling supported the diagnosis. All patients underwent TSS; the mean follow-up duration was 6 ± 0.5 years. Selective adenomectomy was performed in 32 and hemihypophysectomy in the other two patients. A cure was obtained in 31 patients (91%) after one TSS and in two more patients after further TSS; one patient was not cured despite two TSSs and one underwent bilateral adrenalectomy. Disease recurrence was seen in two patients after 3 years, and they were successfully treated with stereotactic gamma knife surgery. Half of the patients had an ACTH deficiency postoperatively, whereas one third had other pituitary hormone insufficiencies. There were no serious complications attributable to the surgical intervention. Conclusions. Transsphenoidal surgery with selective adenomectomy is an effective and safe treatment for Cushing disease. In the patients presented in this study, the surgical outcome seemed to depend on careful preoperative evaluation and the surgeon's experience. For optimal results in this rare disease the authors therefore suggest that the endocrinological, radiological, and surgical procedures be coordinated in a specialized center.


1995 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel F. Kelly ◽  
Edward R. Laws ◽  
Damirez Fossett

✓ Hyponatremia, usually attributed to the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone, typically occurs in a delayed fashion following transsphenoidal removal of a pituitary adenoma. In a series of 99 consecutive patients who underwent transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenoma, nine patients developed delayed hyponatremia, seven of whom were symptomatic. Of these seven patients, four had been discharged from the hospital and required readmission on postoperative Day 7 to 9. In the nine patients who developed hyponatremia, on the average, serum sodium levels began to fall on Day 4 and reached a nadir on Day 7 (mean serum sodium nadir 123 mmol/L). The development of delayed hyponatremia was associated with the presence of a macroadenoma in eight of the nine patients. Seven of the nine patients had serum sodium levels less than 130 mmol/L and required treatment. One patient was treated with fluid restriction alone and six were treated with both fluid restriction and intravenous urea therapy. Twenty-four and 48 hours after urea administration, serum sodium levels rose by an average of 6 and 10 mmol/L, respectively, and at discharge, levels averaged 136 mmol/L. Intravenous administration of urea provides a rapid yet safe means of correcting symptomatic hyponatremia when fluid restriction alone is inadequate. In this article, the authors discuss the pathogenesis of delayed hyponatremia.


1977 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Milas ◽  
Oscar Sugar ◽  
Glen Dobben

✓ The authors describe a case of benign chromophobe adenoma associated with hyperostosis of the lesser wing of the sphenoid bone and monocular blindness in a 38-year-old woman. The endocrinological and radiological evaluations were all suggestive of a meningioma. The diagnosis was established by biopsy of the tumor mass. After orbital decompression and removal of the tumor, the patient was treated with radiation therapy. Her postoperative course was uneventful, and her visual defects remained fixed.


1982 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Baskin ◽  
Jeannette J. Townsend ◽  
Charles B. Wilson

✓ Diffuse lymphocytic infiltration of the adenohypophysis occurring in temporal relation to pregnancy was found in two patients, each of whom had an intasellar mass with suprasellar extension that caused compression of the optic chiasm. The pathology and etiology of this lesion is discussed. This entity should be considered when evaluating patients with a pituitary mass lesion that presents in temporal association to pregnancy, particularly if there is evidence of hypopituitarism rather than a hypersecreting, endocrineactive adenoma.


2003 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 1312-1317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis J. Kim ◽  
Jeffrey D. Klopfenstein ◽  
Ming Cheng ◽  
Murugasu Nagul ◽  
Stephen Coons ◽  
...  

✓ Despite diagnostic advances, it remains difficult to identify intrasellar and ectopic parasellar adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)—secreting microadenomas. The authors present the case of a 61-year-old woman with Cushing disease in whom a significant central-to-peripheral and lateralized right-sided ACTH gradient was demonstrated on inferior petrosal sinus sampling; no discernible abnormality was seen on magnetic resonance imaging. She underwent transnasal transsphenoidal surgery. No tumor was found on sellar exploration and a total hypophysectomy was performed, yet her hypercortisolemia persisted. The patient died of cardiac events 17 days postsurgery. Autopsy revealed an isolated, right-sided, intracavernous ACTH-secreting adenoma with no intrasellar communication. This case represents the first failed transsphenoidal surgery for Cushing disease in which there is postmortem confirmation of a suspected intracavernous sinus lesion. It supports the hypothesis that Cushing disease associated with nondiagnostic imaging studies, a strong ACTH gradient on venography, and negative findings on sellar exploration may be caused by an ectopic intracavernous ACTH-secreting adenoma. There are no premortem means of confirming the presence of such lesions, but these tumors could underlie similar cases of failed surgery. Radiation therapy targeting the sella turcica and both cavernous sinuses, possibly supplemented with medical treatment, is suggested for similar patients in whom transsphenoidal hypophysectomy has failed. Adrenalectomy may also be appropriate if a rapid reduction in ACTH is necessary.


1977 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward R. Laws ◽  
James C. Trautmann ◽  
Robert W. Hollenhorst

✓ A review of recent experience with transsphenoidal surgery for lesions in and about the sella turcica establishes the value of this approach for the management of patients with visual loss. The lesions encountered consisted of pituitary adenoma in 45 cases, craniopharyngioma in 10 cases, and miscellaneous tumors involving the sella in the remaining seven cases. Sixty of the 62 patients in this series had quantitative determination of preoperative and postoperative visual status; after surgery, vision was improved in 81%, unchanged in 11%, and worse in 5%. Two patients (3%) died during the immediate postoperative period before their visual status could be evaluated.


2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hidetoshi Ikeda ◽  
Hidefumi Jokura ◽  
Takashi Yoshimoto

Object. The results of combined transsphenoidal surgery and adjuvant gamma knife surgery (GKS) for growth hormone (GH)—secreting adenoma were investigated using biochemical cure criteria for surgery and biological cure criteria for adjuvant GKS. Methods. Ninety patients (42 male and 48 female patients), ranging from 11 to 75 years of age, underwent transsphenoidal surgery for GH-secreting pituitary adenoma. Preoperative and postoperative GH and insulin-like growth factor-I levels were measured, as was the postoperative GH level after the oral glucose tolerance test. Tumor size, cavernous sinus (CS) invasion, and residual tumor were evaluated using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Transsphenoidal microsurgery was performed, followed by adjuvant GKS when there was persistent biochemical evidence of GH hypersecretion with residual tumor detectable in the CS on MR imaging. Patients in whom GKS was contraindicated were treated with conventional radiotherapy or by medical means. Conclusions. The overall surgical cure rate was 57% based on recently accepted biochemical cure criteria. Patients with no CS invasion achieved a 100% cure rate, whereas patients with CS invasion achieved an 82% cure rate (14 of 17 patients) after adjuvant GKS. The combination of transsphenoidal microsurgery and adjuvant GKS is the optimal therapy for patients with GH-secreting adenoma.


2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn P. Meij ◽  
Maria-Beatriz S. Lopes ◽  
Dilantha B. Ellegala ◽  
Tord D. Alden ◽  
Edward R. Laws

Object. Pituitary adenomas are considered benign tumors; however, they may infiltrate surrounding tissues including the dura mater. In this paper the authors analyze the clinical significance of microscopically confirmed dural invasion by comparing a range of variables (age and sex of patients, adenoma type, adenoma size on magnetic resonance [MR] images, remission, residual pituitary disease, recurrence, survival, and disease-free interval after surgery) between patients with noninvasive adenomas and those with invasive ones. Methods. Between 1992 and 1997 dural specimens were obtained in 354 patients with pituitary adenomas who underwent transsphenoidal surgery performed by the senior author (E.R.L.). Dural specimens were examined using routine histological methods and assessed for invasion by pituitary adenoma tissue. The dura was invaded by the pituitary adenoma in 161 patients (45.5%), and in 192 patients (54.5%) no evidence of dural invasion was found. Dural invasion was present significantly more frequently in the repeated surgery group (69%, 55 patients) than in the primary transsphenoidal surgery group (41%, 291 patients). The mean age of patients undergoing primary transsphenoidal surgery was significantly older in cases of invasive adenomas (50 years) compared with cases of noninvasive adenomas (43 years), and these age differences also correlated with adenoma size. Women tend to develop clinically evident, smaller adenomas at a younger age than men. Of the patients with pituitary adenomas that were 20 mm or smaller, 117 (76%) of 154 were women, whereas of the patients with adenomas that were larger than 20 mm, 74 (54%) of 137 were men. The frequency of dural invasion increased with increasing size of the pituitary adenoma as measured on MR images. In 291 patients who underwent primary pituitary surgery, the frequency of dural invasion according to adenoma size was 24% (≤ 10 mm), 35% (> 10 to ≤ 20 mm), 55% (> 20 to ≤ 40 mm), and 70% (> 40 mm). In patients who underwent primary transsphenoidal surgery, dural invasion was present in more than 50% of those with nonfunctioning adenomas and in 30 to 35% of patients with endocrinologically active adenomas. The mean diameter of the gonadotrophic adenomas and null-cell adenomas was significantly larger than that of each of the endocrinologically active adenomas. In 58 (20%) of 291 patients who underwent primary pituitary surgery there was residual pituitary disease postsurgery, and 20% of this subset of patients showed clinical improvement to such an extent that no further management was recommended. After pituitary surgery, residual tumor tissue was demonstrable significantly more frequently in patients with invasive adenomas than in those with noninvasive adenomas. Recurrences after initial remission (cure) of pituitary disease occurred in 18 (8.8%) of 205 patients between 2 and 79 months after primary pituitary surgery (median 25 months). The recurrence rate was not related to dural invasion in a consistent or significant fashion. Seven patients died between 14 and 79 months after pituitary surgery and all had invasive adenomas identified on gross observation at surgery and on microscopy. The survival rate was slightly but significantly decreased for patients with invasive adenomas (91%) compared with patients with noninvasive adenomas (100%) at 6 years postsurgery. Conclusions. The principal significance of dural invasion by pituitary adenoma is the persistence of tumor tissue after transsphenoidal surgery (incomplete adenomectomy; 20% in primary pituitary tumor resections). The increase in adenoma size with time and the concurrent development of dural invasion are the major factors that determine an incomplete adenomectomy. When the adenoma remains restricted to the sellar compartment or shows only moderate suprasellar extension, dural invasion may not yet have developed and conditions for complete selective adenomectomy are improved.


1987 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter D. Lees ◽  
John D. Pickard

✓ The intrasellar pressure has been studied in a consecutive series of 24 patients undergoing transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenoma. The mean intrasellar pressure for the group was 23 ± 2.5 mm Hg (± standard error of the mean), with a mean pulse pressure of 3.5 ± 1 mm Hg. The waveform partly resembled the arterial configuration. The results are correlated with the radiological and endocrinological features of the tumors. A hypothesis is proposed to explain the mechanism of hyperprolactinemia associated with the pituitary stalk compression syndrome.


2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan E. Simmons ◽  
Tord D. Alden ◽  
Michael O. Thorner ◽  
Edward R. Laws

Object. Transsphenoidal surgery remains the optimal treatment for Cushing disease, but the definitions of surgical cure and failure remain debatable. In this study the authors evaluated serum cortisol levels in patients before and after they underwent transsphenoidal surgery to elucidate the patterns of cortisol decrease and the optimal time and criteria for determining surgically induced remission. Methods. Twenty-seven patients were evaluated throughout an 8-month period. Serum cortisol levels were obtained before surgery and at 6-hour intervals postoperatively. No exogenous steroid medications were administered until after cortisol sampling was discontinued, following diagnosis of remission. Twenty-one (78%) of 27 cases were labeled initial surgically induced remissions. Twenty-two (81%) of 27 cases were deemed surgically induced remissions at follow-up examination. Following surgery, initial remissions and failures demonstrated divergent patterns of cortisol levels. No patient whose condition was deemed an initial surgically induced remission has experienced definitive relapse of disease since discharge. One patient whose condition was initially deemed a surgical failure, eventually was found to exhibit surgically induced remission without further intervention. Conclusions. Given such findings, exogenous steroid medications do not appear to be required for patients until after the determination of remission. During the 1st postoperative day, there is a time period during which serum cortisol values significantly differ between the categories of surgically induced remissions and surgical failures. Surgically induced remissions were identified when postoperative values of cortisol were lower than preoperative midnight levels and when absolute values of cortisol were less than 10 µg/dl. In a small proportion of patients remission on a delayed basis may also be demonstrated. These data allow for a simple and rapid determination of postoperative remission in patients undergoing transsphenoidal surgery for Cushing disease.


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