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Updated: Aug 3, 2026

Endoscopic Endonasal Trans-sphenoidal Approach: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Pituitary Adenomas
Published on: January 17, 2018
Sudden death due to pituitary apoplexy
1Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Wuerzburg, Versbacher Strasse 3, D-97078 Wuerzburg, Germany. reme005@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
Abstract:
A case of sudden, unexpected death due to hemorrhage into a large, previously undiagnosed pituitary adenoma (pituitary apoplexy) in a 41-year-old man is presented. Pituitary adenomas are frequent intracranial tumors with usually benign prognosis. Acute hemorrhage into the tumor is a severe and potentially fatal complication, if not diagnosed and treated early, and occurs in up to 10% of cases. Sudden tumor enlargement due to the hemorrhage with compression of vessels and neural tissue at the skull base may result in coma and death without preceding symptoms leading to forensic investigations as demonstrated by this case report.
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