[Surgical Planning for a Giant Pituitary Adenoma Based on Evaluation of the Fine Feeding System and...

Giant pituitary adenomas carry higher surgical risks despite recent advances in microsurgical and/or endoscopic surgery. In particular, postoperative acute catastrophic changes without major vessel disturbance are still extremely difficult to predict, and may manifest as postoperative pituitary apoplexy with very poor outcomes. These changes are associated with injuries to the capillary intratumoral feeders and/or drainers, which frequently have diameters of less than 300µm, and result in drastic hemodynamic changes. A 43-year-old woman with severe visual disturbance and a giant pituitary adenoma was referred to our institute, The tumor had extended irregularly toward the suprasellar cistern and had compressed the optic chiasm upwards, and the bilateral frontal lobes were displaced laterally. Surgery was planned based on information regarding the fine angioarchitecture and feeding systems using a C-arm cone-beam CT scanner with a flat-panel detector(GE Healthcare;IL, USA)and 50%-diluted contrast medium, which disclosed the distinct feedings from the left meningohypophyseal trunk to the left lower part of the tumor and from the left superior hypophyseal artery to the upper posterior part, and absence of pial blood supply to the lateral pole of the tumor. Extended transsphenoidal surgery was performed and achieved total tumor removal. The patient was discharged without neurological or endocrinological deficits. Detailed preoperative examination of the feeding system and hemodynamics of giant pituitary adenomas is not a priority at present. However, we would like to emphasize the need for specific individual operative strategies to prevent devastating outcomes after surgery for this formidable tumor.