The pituitary tumor what and how is it detected?

Headache and chronic headache may be a manifestation of a type of tumor located in the skull, pituitary tumors.

Pituitary tumors occur in the pituitary, a gland at the base of the skull. It is responsible for producing certain hormones in organs throughout the body, and some of these hormones are essential for life.

Pituitary tumors, as experts say Neurosurgery , are caused by an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of a specific type of the anterior lobe cells. This translates clinically in specific endocrine. Tumor growth anterior lobe can also occur without apparent hormonal disturbance occurs.

Pituitary Tumor Symptoms

• amenorrhea (loss of menstruation) and galactorrhea (spontaneous output of breast milk). Men only experience a diminished libido (sex drive).

• Diseases of the cardiovascular and endocrine system (diabetes, obesity)

• Abnormal growth of the bones of the face and extremities that make you increase the size of your gloves and shoes, changes their voice, and can develop high blood pressure and diabetes.

• Hyperthyroidism (high blood pressure, protruding eyes, hyperactivity)

• Progressive reduction of the visual field by the side area. This symptom occurs in more advanced cases, when the pituitary tumor growth has expanded to contact the optic chiasm

The diagnosis of these tumors is reached through hormonal studies and brain MRI.

Pituitary Tumor Treatment

Treatment is usually surgical, in order to resect the tumor and decompress the optical path if the case so requires. The postoperative hospital stay is 3-4 days. The result of the surgery is very good with high cure figures, although variable depending on the type of adenoma.

The standard procedure is performed through a nasal approach that allows us direct access to the pituitary tumor. In recent years this using the endoscopic technique, which allowed avoiding preserve pituitary gland hormone deficiencies that would have required hormone replacement medication for life.