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Updated: Mar 17, 2026
Endoscopic Endonasal Trans-sphenoidal Approach: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Pituitary Adenomas
Published on: January 17, 2018
[Endoscopic treatment of 140 pituitary tumors, results and complications]
Sofia Beltrame1, Maximiliano Toscano1, Ezequiel Goldschmidt2
1Servicio de Neurocirugía, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Objective:
To present the clinical and radiographic outcomes of 140 patients with pituitary adenomas treated by an endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) over a period of 4 years.
Material And Methods:
A retrospective analysis was performed between 2011 and 2014. Pre and post operative MRI, ophtalmological assessment, endocrinological laboratory evaluation and surgical morbidity and mortality were assessed.
Results:
57,9% of the patients had functional tumors (n=81), acromegaly being the most frequent sub-type (29.3%). 78.6% of the lesions were macroadenomas (n=110) of which 56.4% (n=62) involved the cavernous sinus, 61 patients presented with visual field defects (44%) of which 50.8% of patients showed improvement after surgery. Gross total removal was achieved in 60% of the cases. Hormonal remission was achieved in the 75% of the patients with functional tumors. The morbidity rate was 15% and one patient died after surgery (mortality 0.7%).
Conclusion:
EEA is a safe and effective tool to treat pituitary adenomas. The main limitation for complete surgical resection is the cavernous sinus invasion.
