What is the pituitary gland?
The pituitary gland is the most complex endocrine gland in the human body and is located in the saddle area at the base of the skull, in the deep part of the brain at the midpoint of the line between the two ears behind the nose, ventral to the lower part of the thalamus and oval in shape. The hormones produced by the pituitary gland play a very important role in the human body, influencing various vital and metabolic activities of the body. The pituitary gland is divided into two parts: the millia and the posterior lobe, and is located in the pituitary fossa above the middle cranial fossa and the pterygoid body, with a tough dura. In adults, the pituitary gland is about 1*1.5*0.5 cm in size and weighs about 0.5-0.6 grams.
What is a pituitary tumor?
Pituitary tumors are a common type of tumor in the saddle area. The vast majority are pituitary adenomas, which are tumors that occur in the pituitary gland as well as in the residual epithelial cells of the craniopharyngeal canal. Pituitary adenomas originate in the anterior pituitary cells, and statistics show that they occur in approximately 10-15% of the population.
What are the symptoms of pituitary adenoma?
Clinically significant symptoms account for approximately 10% of intracranial tumors. Pituitary tumors usually occur in young adults and often affect the patient’s growth, reproductive function, learning and work ability. Clinical manifestations include abnormal hormone secretion syndrome, tumor compression of peripituitary tissues, pituitary stroke and other manifestations of anterior pituitary hypoplasia.
What is the treatment of pituitary tumors?
Treatment of pituitary tumors is a complex and comprehensive systemic effort that usually includes drug therapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. A comprehensive assessment of the patient’s condition is required to select the appropriate treatment modality, and sometimes a combination of multiple modalities is needed to complement the treatment. So some patients ask, how big pituitary tumors need surgery and are they prone to recurrence? It is generally believed that pituitary tumors larger than one centimeter need to be considered for surgery. As for the ease of recurrence, it depends on whether the tumor is removed cleanly or not. Generally, we use neuroendoscopic transnasal pterygoid approach to remove the pituitary tumor under direct vision with an open field of vision, which can remove the tumor more completely and is generally less likely to recur.