Is pituitary tumor treatable?

The reason why people are afraid of getting tumors is that some tumors, if not completely cured, have the possibility of turning into malignant tumors, thus threatening a person's life. Pituitary tumors are a type of brain tumor. When a patient suffers from a pituitary tumor, it will affect the normal secretion of hormones throughout the body, because the pituitary gland is an important organ involved in hormone secretion. But is it possible to cure this type of pituitary tumor?

Can pituitary tumors be cured?

1. Surgical method

Generally speaking, surgical treatment of pituitary tumors is divided into two categories: transcranial surgery and transsphenoidal surgery.

① The main transcranial surgical approaches include the subfrontal, transfrontotemporal (pterional) and transtemporal approaches, among which the first two are the most commonly used.

② Transsphenoidal surgical approaches include transoronasal sphenoidal, transnasal sphenoidal, and transethmoid sphenoidal, making it the most widely used surgical method for pituitary tumors.

2. Indications for surgery

Craniotomy: mainly through the frontal lobe approach. It only accounts for 5% of pituitary adenoma surgeries; transcranial approach surgery is suitable for: tumors growing above the sella turcica, parasellar, subfrontal and clivus; transnasal sphenoidal approach surgery: currently, transnasal sphenoidal approach surgery accounts for more than 95% of pituitary adenoma removal.

Indications for transnasal sphenoidal surgery include:

1. Various types of pituitary microadenomas;

2. Various types of pituitary macroadenomas;

3. Various types of giant pituitary adenomas (maximum diameter>3.0cm;

4. For patients with advanced giant tumors invading the cavernous sinus or even involving the cavernous sinus and invading the middle cranial fossa;

5. Those with pre-optic chiasma;

6. The tumor grows toward the sphenoid sinus and grows backward to invade the dorsum sella turcica and clivus, causing cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea.

3. Surgical complications

1. Nasal secretions: Nasal congestion often occurs within a few months after surgery, and a small amount of bloody secretions or cool liquids continuously flow out of the nasal cavity. You can drip nasal drops into the nasal cavity to reduce inflammation. One week after the operation, the nasal secretions were cleaned 1 to 2 times in the ENT department.

2. Nasal bleeding: It often occurs after the gauze strips used for nasal packing are removed after surgery. Sometimes it occurs a few days later. In mild cases, temporary filling of the nasal cavity with cotton balls can cure the problem. In severe cases (bleeding of several hundred milliliters), angiography is required.

3. Headache: It may be caused by multiple factors such as nasal mucosal edema and sphenoid sinus inflammation. In severe cases, painkillers can be taken for symptomatic treatment.

4. Hypopituitarism: manifested as fever, general weakness, headache, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, etc. Check blood cortisol and thyroid hormones. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, use prednisone and thyroxine for treatment under the guidance of a doctor.

5. Hyponatremia: It usually occurs 4 to 8 days after surgery, and manifests as low fever, weakness, headache, nausea, vomiting, and in severe cases, worsening of consciousness. Blood test, chlorine value is low. After the diagnosis is confirmed, hypertonic saline is infused to supplement fluids and drinking water is restricted.

6. Spinal fluid rhinorrhea: Clear water flows continuously from the nasal cavity, which worsens when lowering the head, accompanied by headache and possible fever. Severe cases require surgical repair.