Acute painful oculomotor nerve paresis caused by pituitary apoplexy--a case report

In a typical case of pituitary apoplexy, a patient, who may or may not be known to harbor a pituitary adenoma, suddenly develops a severe headache. The headache may be retro-orbital, frontal, frontotemporal, or diffuse and may be associated with neck stiffness, neck pain, or both. Ophthalmoplegia may develop within a few hours after the onset of headache. Here we report a rare case of one middle-aged female with pituitary apoplexy initially presenting with acute onset of pupil-involved third cranial nerve palsy, headache and peri-ocular pain. Emergent neuroimaging revealed pituitary apoplexy and immediate intravenous corticosteroid was given and third nerve paresis was improved thereafter. Definite tumor removal was done smoothly after steroid treatment and complete recovery of ophthalmoplegia was noted 2 weeks after operation.