Post operative 'pituitary apoplexy' in giant pituitary adenomas: a series of cases

This is report on four cases of giant pituitary tumors that developed postoperative pituitary apoplexy after they had undergone a partial tumor resection. Three patients had undergone surgery by a transsphenoid route and one patient underwent surgery by transcranial route. Postoperative CT scan showed hemorrhagic expansion of residual tumor mass. All the four patients were re-explored transcranially and hemorrhagic swelling of the tumor was observed. In three cases, the tumor had swollen to a size greater than twice the original tumor. All the four patients had a fatal outcome.