1.What is pituitary adenoma?
A: Pituitary adenoma is a benign tumor composed of anterior pituitary cells.
2.Why do pituitary adenomas occur?
A: We are also studying this problem, which can be explained by abnormal proliferation of monoclonal cells. The real pathogenesis of pituitary tumor has not been found yet.
3.Is the incidence of pituitary tumor high?
A: Large-scale statistics show that the incidence of pituitary tumor is one in 100,000 people per year. But don’t be afraid to have a pituitary tumor, after all, it is a benign disease, there are ways to cure it.
4.Can pituitary tumors be inherited?
A: No definite evidence has been found that pituitary tumors are hereditary, so even if you have a pituitary tumor, you can rest assured that it will not be passed on to the next generation. Very few patients have a family history of pituitary tumors.
5.What are the symptoms of pituitary tumor?
A: To answer this question, we must first know the classification of pituitary tumors: pituitary tumors can be classified according to the type of hormone secreted as
1. Lactogenic pituitary tumors: men show a decreased libido, women show irregular menstruation or even amenorrhea, and overflow of milk (milk production).
2. Growth hormone pituitary tumor: The main manifestations are gigantism, facial changes, enlarged hands and feet (increased shoe size), and increased blood sugar.
3. ACTH-type pituitary tumor: The main manifestations are obesity, full-moon face, hirsutism, and purple lines (purple-red skin lines on the body).
4. Hormone-free adenoma: It does not secrete hormone, and the enlarged tumor causes vision loss, visual field defects, headache, etc.
5. Other types of pituitary tumors are FSH, LH and TSH, which are rarely seen. In addition to their respective symptoms, common manifestations include polyhydramnios (thirst and urination), headache, dizziness, significant loss of vision, and visual field defects (difficulty seeing on both sides). In case of pituitary tumor stroke (tumor bleeding), there can be severe headache, nausea, vomiting, and even blindness.
6.How to check out pituitary tumor?
A: Generally, CT and MRI are needed to detect pituitary tumor, and to confirm the diagnosis, “CT and MRI of saddle area” should be taken, and it is better to use contrast agent.
7.What should I do if I find pituitary tumor? Should I take medicine or operate?
A: At present, the treatment of pituitary tumor is mainly surgery, supplemented by medication and radiation therapy.
8.I have irregular menstruation and overflowing breast, but the MRI film says there is no pituitary tumor, what is it?
A: Some female patients have symptoms of amenorrhea and overflow of breast milk, and blood test shows increased prolactin, but the MRI does not find pituitary tumor, which is called: hyperprolactinemia, these patients need internal medicine treatment, no need for surgery.
9.I took an MRI and the report said that the pituitary gland is hyperplastic, what is it?
A: Pituitary gland hyperplasia is due to changes in the human endocrine environment, such as puberty, pregnancy, etc. stimulate the growth of pituitary glands, generally not very large, do not need to open surgery.
10.Is it risky to operate on pituitary tumor?
A: Pituitary tumor is located in the saddle area, surrounded by important nerve structures such as optic nerve, internal carotid artery and hypothalamus, so there is still some risk in the surgery. Of course, each pituitary tumor patient has different risks. Generally the larger the growth, the more difficult it is.
11.Does Gamma Knife work on pituitary tumors?
A: Gamma knife can not be used for relatively large (more than one centimeter), cystic, close to the optic nerve pituitary tumor, so its scope of action is relatively limited, mainly for less than one centimeter, substantial small pituitary tumor, or as an adjuvant treatment after surgery.
12.I heard that many people have urinary collapse after pituitary tumor surgery, what is it? What other complications can occur?
A: Pituitary tumor surgery more or less always affects the posterior pituitary gland, which can easily cause the posterior pituitary gland after surgery to secrete insufficient hormone, and one of the functions of the posterior pituitary gland hormone is to control the volume of urine, so it can lead to increased urine volume and even urinary collapse. It’s not terrible, drink more water, use some posterior pituitary hormone, Mylicon and other drugs, the majority of patients can be cured.
13.Will pituitary tumor recur after surgery?
A: First of all, pituitary tumor is a benign tumor, but there is a certain recurrence rate, about 10%. It is mainly related to the characteristics of the tumor itself. For general pituitary tumors, as long as the surgery is clean, the recurrence rate is very small; however, some aggressive pituitary tumors are very prone to recurrence. As for which are aggressive pituitary tumors, the MRI and pathology report can help doctors identify them. Therefore, we usually let patients review the films three days, one month, three months, six months and one year after surgery to observe the dynamic changes of the operated area and evaluate the efficacy of the surgery.
14.Do I need to do radiotherapy after pituitary tumor surgery?
A: The previous view was that radiotherapy was done after surgery, which resulted in many patients with low pituitary function and poor quality of life. Now we believe that: general pituitary tumors, as long as the surgery is clean, do not need radiotherapy, only some invasive pituitary tumors, there are residual or recurrence after surgery, radiotherapy or Gamma knife treatment.
15.Why should I take prednisone before and after pituitary tumor surgery? Why try not to take bromelain before surgery?
A: Pituitary tumor surgery tends to affect the secretion of cortisol hormone, so the hormone (prednisone) should be supplemented before and after surgery. Bromocriptine is likely to cause pituitary tumor texture hardening, which is not easy to remove during surgery, so try to stop taking bromocriptine before surgery.
16.What is called Lachrymatory cyst cyst? What is the difference between it and pituitary tumor?
A: Lachrymal cyst is a relatively rare congenital cyst in the saddle area. It is easily confused with cystic pituitary tumor. There is now a growing awareness of it. A Lahier’s cyst is a benign cyst that can also cause endocrine symptoms, so it should be operated on.