1.What is pituitary tumor? Pituitary adenoma is a benign tumor consisting of cells from the anterior pituitary gland.
2.Why do pituitary tumors occur?
This question is also being studied by us and can be explained by the abnormal proliferation of monoclonal cells. The real pathogenesis of pituitary tumor has not been found yet.
3. Is the incidence of pituitary tumors high?
If you have a pituitary tumor, congratulations, you have won the lottery. 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?
There is no conclusive evidence 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. If anyone finds a familial pituitary tumor, please let me know immediately and I will give you a big reward and never go back on my word.
5.What are the symptoms of pituitary tumor?
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: (1) Lactogenic pituitary tumors: men show a decreased libido, women show irregular menstruation or even amenorrhea, and overflow of breast 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 hormones, and the enlarged tumor causes vision loss, visual field defects, and headache.
(5) Others are FSH, LH, TSH type pituitary tumors, 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?
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. It is recommended to go to a big hospital to have the film taken, because the machine in the big hospital is better and the film taken is clearer. If the film is not clear, it is equal to nothing.
7.What should I do if my pituitary tumor is detected? Should I take medicine or have an operation?
At present, the treatment of pituitary tumor is still mainly surgery, supplemented by drug therapy, radiation therapy, gamma knife. The main drug is bromocriptan, the efficacy of which is not yet very certain, and the price is also more expensive, a piece of medicine costs several dollars. As long as the knife is opened well, most pituitary tumors can be cured.
8.I have irregular menstruation and overflowing breast, but the MRI film says there is no pituitary tumor, what is it?
Some female patients have symptoms of amenorrhea and overflow of breast milk, and blood tests show increased prolactin, but the MRI does not reveal pituitary tumors, which is called hyperprolactinemia.
9. I had an MRI and the report said that the pituitary gland is hyperplastic, what is it?
Pituitary gland hyperplasia is due to changes in the person’s endocrine environment, such as puberty and pregnancy, which stimulate the growth of pituitary glands, and is usually not very large and does not require surgery.
10.Is there any risk for pituitary tumor to be operated?
Pituitary tumor is located in the saddle area and 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. Therefore, it is necessary to find a big hospital and a specialist to operate. The professors and directors of neurosurgery in general provincial hospitals are not very experienced in opening pituitary tumors, so it is recommended that the two hospitals, Tiantan and Huashan, are more reliable. At present, the neurosurgeons of Huashan Hospital neurosurgery department, mainly Professor Li Shiqi, have done 4,000 to 5,000 cases of pituitary tumors.
11.Is Gamma Knife effective for pituitary tumors?
Gamma knife cannot be used for large pituitary tumors (more than one centimeter), cystic and close to the optic nerve, so its scope of action is relatively limited, mainly for small pituitary tumors below one centimeter, substantial, or as an adjuvant treatment after surgery. Huashan Hospital Neurosurgery Gamma Knife Treatment Center was established in 1993, is the earliest and largest Gamma Knife treatment center in China.
12.I heard that many people have urinary collapse after pituitary tumor surgery, what is it? What other symptoms may occur?
Pituitary tumor surgery more or less always affects the posterior pituitary lobe, which will easily cause the posterior pituitary hormone secretion deficiency after surgery, and one of the functions of the posterior pituitary hormone is to control urine volume, so it can lead to increased urine volume and even urinary collapse. It is 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?
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?
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: 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 should I try not to take bromocriptine before surgery?
Pituitary tumor surgery tends to affect the secretion of cortisol hormone, so the hormone (prednisone) should be supplemented before and after surgery. We usually take 5mg tid of prednisone after surgery and change to 5mg bid after two weeks. the amount of hormone should be reduced slowly. Bromocriptan tends to cause pituitary tumor texture hardening, which is not very good to remove during surgery, so try to stop using bromocriptan before surgery.
16.What is Rathke′s cyst? What is the difference between it and pituitary tumor?
Rathke′s cyst is a relatively rare congenital cyst in the saddle area. It can be easily confused with a cystic pituitary tumor. Rathke′s) cyst is a benign cyst that can also cause endocrine symptoms and should be operated on. It has an excellent surgical outcome, a better prognosis than pituitary tumors, and does not recur.