Although pituitary tumor surgery carries some risks, most do not have serious complications. For some complex surgeries, however, the following complications may occur.
1, hemorrhagic shock and death If injury to the internal carotid arteries on both sides of the pituitary gland can cause hemorrhagic shock and death, or cerebral infarction after embolization of the vessels. However, the incidence of this condition is very low (about 1/1000) for an experienced surgeon.
2. Visual field defect and vision loss Postoperative bleeding into the residual tumor cavity or the pterygoid saddle can aggravate the compression of the optic nerve and optic cross, which may cause severe visual field defect and vision loss. This is a very rare complication that requires reoperation to remove the clot and relieve the compression symptoms.
3.Cerebrospinal fluid leakage Since there is only a membrane separating the pituitary tumor and cerebrospinal fluid, there is a possibility of cerebrospinal fluid leakage after surgery. In order to repair the broken meninges and prevent intracranial infection secondary to cerebrospinal fluid leakage, a small piece of adipose tissue and fascia taken from the patient’s own body will be filled in the tumor bed during surgery to play a role of physical reinforcement. Nevertheless, the incidence of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage is still about 1%, and it is even higher for giant adenomas and craniopharyngiomas that grow through the saddle area and septum. Once it occurs, there is a risk of infection secondary to meningitis, and a second, or even three, surgeries may be required to repair the cerebrospinal fluid leak.
The incidence of all of the above is for experienced surgeons, and for inexperienced surgeons, the incidence of all of the above complications will be even higher. Therefore, it is important for patients to visit a regular hospital.