Staged surgery for irregular giant pituitary adenomas: A report of two cases

The resection of giant pituitary adenomas is one of the most challenging brain surgeries, especially when the giant pituitary adenomas have an irregular shape or irregular growth position. The purpose of the present study is to propose staged surgery for irregular giant pituitary adenomas through a retrospective analysis of two cases. The cases of two patients with irregular giant pituitary adenomas who underwent staged surgery are retrospectively analyzed. In one case, a 51-year-old male was hospitalized after 2 months of memory loss. Brain MRI showed that the pituitary adenoma was paginated and located in the sellar and right suprasellar regions, with a size of ~6.15×6.11×5.69 cm. In the second case, a 60-year-old male had a history of intermittent vertigo for 10 years and paroxysmal amaurosis for 1 year. Brain MRI showed that the pituitary adenoma grew laterally and eccentrically, and was located in the sellar region, with a size of ~4.35×3.96×3.07 cm. Both patients underwent staged surgery; more specifically, the tumors were totally removed through two-stage surgery. In the first-stage operation, most of the tumor was removed by the microscopic transcranial approach, while in the second-stage operation, the residual tumor was removed by the endoscopic transsphenoidal approach. Both patients recovered well without obvious postoperative complications after staged surgery. There was no recurrence during the follow-up. Staged surgery is characterized by only treating tumors in the visual field and achieving a total tumor resection, which has the advantages of a high tumor resection rate, high safety and fewer postoperative complications. Staged surgery is especially suitable for irregular giant pituitary adenomas with an irregular shape or irregular growth position.