Domestic neuroendoscopy for pituitary tumors

  As the name implies, pituitary tumors originate from the pituitary gland, which is the endocrine center of the human body. If we look at the human head as a sphere, the pituitary gland is basically located at the center of this sphere. In addition to its deep location, the site of the pituitary gland is also very important. For those who have not studied medicine, it may be difficult to understand the complex local anatomy. Although the location is deep and the structure is complex, fortunately there is a channel (nasal cavity) in the human head that allows more direct access to the local pituitary gland. Another fortunate condition is that most pituitary adenomas are soft (and can be removed by suction), so even through such a narrow channel as the nasal cavity, total resection can often be achieved, which is the basis for the currently prevalent microscopic transsphenoidal pituitary tumor resection. East However, one of the more obvious disadvantages of microscopic pituitary tumor resection is the limited visualization of local structures. With the development of technology, neuroendoscopic techniques have shown increasing superiority in the treatment of pituitary tumors. Its main advantage is that it can significantly expand the exposure of some of the delicate structures of the pituitary gland, because the neuroendoscope can get close to the pituitary gland for observation, so that the extent of tumor removal can be observed during surgery, and the relationship between the tumor and the surrounding structures, especially the relationship with important structures such as the internal carotid artery, can be observed. Thus, the tumor can be removed to the maximum extent and damage to important structures can be minimized. Neuroendoscopy is in a sense an extension of the microscope and the surgeon’s field of vision, so it can significantly reduce the damage to the normal structures of the nasal cavity during the transnasal surgery, greatly shorten the recovery time and make the surgery safer. Neuroendoscopic treatment of pituitary tumors is gradually becoming mainstream.  However, most of the neuroendoscopes are produced in Germany and the United States, which are expensive and difficult to be popularized in Chinese primary hospitals. By cooperating with domestic endoscope manufacturers, Dr. Wang has jointly developed a neuroendoscope suitable for Chinese people, the quality of which is comparable to foreign products, but the price is one 20th of foreign products. It has a very obvious advantage. Since the price of the product is advantageous, the cost per surgery operation is also greatly reduced. The average price per pituitary tumor surgery has been reduced to 10,000 RMB, which is not possible for many units introducing foreign neuroendoscopes.