In October, she experienced a significant loss of vision and narrowing of visual field, and went to the ophthalmology department for treatment with no improvement, resulting in blindness in her right eye. After a CT scan, she was found to have an occupancy in the saddle area and rushed to our hospital for MRI and endocrine tests, and was clearly diagnosed with a pituitary adenoma (prolactin type), with a diameter of 3CM. Worried After detailed medical history, careful physical examination, and careful reading of CT and MRI films, the doctors formulated a microscopic resection of pituitary adenoma via single nostril for Xiaohua. What Xiaohua and her family did not expect was that the doctors performed the pituitary adenoma resection through a nose hole, and no trace of incision could be seen from the outside after the surgery. Normal menstruation resumed 2 months after surgery.
Pituitary adenoma is a common benign intracranial tumor, ranking third after glioblastoma and meningioma, accounting for about 10% of intracranial tumors. Depending on the level of hormones secreted by the tumor, it may manifest as acromegaly or gigantism and Cushing’s syndrome, and it may also manifest as amenorrhea, lactation, infertility or hypogonadism. In the past, due to the limitation of treatment technology and level, such patients were often misdiagnosed as ophthalmology, endocrinology, obstetrics and gynecology diseases, which delayed the treatment.
The ideal treatment plan for pituitary adenoma is to remove the tumor with as little trauma as possible, control the tumor growth, decompress the optic nerve sufficiently, and restore the pituitary hormone level to normal. Traditional pituitary adenoma surgery requires the formation of a large bone flap in the frontal area to pull the frontal lobe brain tissue to facilitate full exposure of the tumor, which is very traumatic, and the tumor is often difficult to be removed completely.
By learning from the advanced technology at home and abroad, the neurosurgery department of our hospital, familiar with the anatomy of nasal cavity and skull base and mastering the pathophysiology of pituitary adenoma, has sent key doctors to the first-class hospitals in China for further study and invited experts to our hospital to demonstrate surgery. Since 2005, we have been using advanced treatment facilities (CT, MRI, DSA, German microscope) and the special anatomy of the nasal cavity and skull base to perform microscopic resection of pituitary adenoma through the unilateral nostril. This type of surgery has been performed for several years with satisfactory clinical results. With the improvement of patients’ awareness of this disease and the progress of medical treatment, more and more patients with pituitary adenoma have been able to receive minimally invasive treatment of this disease with ease.