Diving surgery for ACTH secreting pituitary adenomas: a retrospective single center cohort study

Diving technique aims to enhance visualization, bleeding control, and tumor resection in pituitary surgery. Its impact on clinical outcomes, remains underexplored. Our aim is to test the hypotheses on the technique's potential to improve outcomes in ACTH-secreting adenomas.

This retrospective, observational study included 37 patients [diving: 21, standard: 16] with Cushing's who underwent ETTS from 2019 to 2024. Primary endpoints were remission, 3rd postoperative day cortisol levels, and LOS. Analysis included t-tests and multivariate regression models, adjusting for demographic, tumor-related, and surgical factors.

No statistically significant differences were observed in remission rates (71.4% vs. 68.8%, p = 1.000), postoperative cortisol (p = 0.298), or LOS (p = 0.177). A trend was observed (unadjusted model) for lower cortisol (by 2.2 μg/dl) and higher remission rates, in the diving group, but there was no clear correlation with the technique. Surgical history played a role in postoperative cortisol, with no prior pituitary surgery leading to 6.7 fold decrease. The models demonstrated limited explanatory power (R² < 0.25), possibly due to small sample size.

To our knowledge, this is the first study provide an exploratory comparative statistical analysis on diving surgery and further prospective multicenter studies will investigate its clinical utility.