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Updated: Nov 2, 2025
Endoscopic Endonasal Trans-sphenoidal Approach: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Pituitary Adenomas
Published on: January 17, 2018
Emergency endoscopic surgery for pituitary apoplexy presenting as cerebral infarction in a limited resources
He Van Dong1, Dat Tran1, Hung Thanh Chu2
1Department of Neurosurgery I, Viet Duc University Hospital, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
Introduction And Importance:
Pituitary apoplexy is defined as a sudden onset of neurologic deficit due to infarction or hemorrhage of the pituitary tumor. We report a case of emergency endoscopic surgery for pituitary apoplexy presenting as cerebral infarction due to ICA compression in a limited resources condition.
Case Presentation:
A 38-year-old female presented with acute onset of severe headache, decreased level of consciousness, decreased visual acuity bilaterally, aphasia, and right hemiparesis. Computed tomography angiography showed a hyperdense sellar mass with stenosis of the left ICA. The patient underwent emergent endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery for sellar decompression.
Clinical Discussion:
The epidermiology, presentation and diagnosis and strategy of treatments as well as their outcomes were discussed.
Conclusion:
Pituitary apoplexy should be taken into consideration in a patient with increasing headache and neuro-ophthalmic symptoms. Pituitary apoplexy presenting as cerebral infarction is rare. The aim of surgery in emergency setting was sellar decompression. Endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery was an effective treatment.
