How long is the surgery for a pituitary tumor?

Written by Chen Yu Fei

Neurosurgery

Updated on November 01, 2024

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The duration of pituitary tumor surgery is influenced by many factors. For instance, the size of the pituitary tumor and whether the surgical procedure goes smoothly, as well as the presence of important blood vessels and nerves around the pituitary tumor, all affect the length of the surgery. Generally, for typical pituitary tumor patients, the surgery takes about two hours. For patients with larger pituitary tumors, the surgery may last up to three hours or even longer. The patient is given general anesthesia before the surgery and is moved to a recovery room to recuperate for a period afterward, and these times are also included in the duration of the surgery. Therefore, the specific length of the surgery is determined by these factors.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei

Neurosurgery

1min

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Symptoms of Pituitary Tumors

For patients with pituitary tumors, they often present with headaches, typically located behind the eye sockets, forehead, and both temporal areas. In the early stages of the disease, the nature of the headache is relatively mild and intermittent, mostly due to direct stimulation by the tumor or due to increased intrasellar pressure causing compression of the pituitary dural sac and the diaphragm sellae. When the tumor breaks through the diaphragm sellae, the intrasellar pressure gradually decreases, and the pain may gradually lessen or disappear. In the later stages of the disease, headaches may occur due to the tumor spreading to the parasellar region, invading the dura and vessels at the skull base, and compressing the trigeminal nerve, causing severe pain. In rare cases, due to a large pituitary adenoma growing upward into the third ventricle, breaking through and causing obstruction of the foramen of Monroe or the cerebral aqueduct, progressive intracranial pressure increases.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei

Neurosurgery

48sec

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Are pituitary tumors prone to recurrence?

Pituitary tumors in the brain are benign tumors that grow slowly. When the tumor size is relatively small, there are generally no clear symptoms or signs, and most patients can work, live, and study like normal people. It is recommended to treat pituitary tumors with surgical methods. Most pituitary tumors are benign. If they can be completely removed through microscopic surgery, or through the transnasal transsphenoidal approach, minimally invasive surgery can achieve ideal treatment results and generally will not recur. However, for individual patients with pituitary tumors, if the tumor is malignant, it may easily adhere to surrounding tissues in the early stages, making it difficult to completely remove surgically, thus it is prone to recurrence.

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Written by Li Pei

Neurosurgery

40sec

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How is pituitary tumor surgery performed?

Currently, there are generally two surgical methods for pituitary tumors. One is the transnasal transsphenoidal endoscopic pituitary tumor resection. The other is the craniotomy microsurgery pituitary tumor resection. If the main body of the tumor is located within the sella or even within the sphenoid sinus, it is suitable for transnasal transsphenoidal pituitary tumor resection. If the main body of the tumor is located above the sella, it is suitable for craniotomy microsurgery pituitary tumor resection. Of course, some adjustments should also be made according to the patient's age, physical condition, etc.

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Written by Gao Yi Shen

Neurosurgery

52sec

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How long is the leave for pituitary tumor surgery?

The duration of leave needed after pituitary tumor surgery must be judged based on individual circumstances, as everyone's condition is different. Generally, if the tumor removal uses a minimally invasive method, entering through the nose, then under normal circumstances, if the surgery goes well without any complications or sequelae, the patient often only needs to take one to two weeks off, and can usually return to work or studies afterwards. However, in some cases where open craniotomy is used for the tumor removal and the surgery encounters problems, postoperative complications or sequelae may occur, and the leave required can be around one to two months. If the condition is more critical, the leave period may be extended even further. Therefore, the decision must be based on the specific condition at the time, with most cases likely requiring around one month off.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei

Neurosurgery

50sec

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Is a pituitary tumor scary?

For pituitary tumors, if not treated promptly and effectively, the continuous enlargement of the tumor often causes patients to experience recurring symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Additionally, a series of endocrine hormone imbalances accompanying the tumor often manifest various symptoms and signs. When the pituitary tumor grows to a certain size, it can also potentially cause pituitary apoplexy. Therefore, it is advisable for patients with pituitary tumors to seek timely medical attention at local hospitals and undergo early surgical treatment. By opting for endonasal transsphenoidal surgery to completely remove the pituitary tumor, most patients can achieve very good treatment outcomes, with a gradual alleviation of existing symptoms.