Cryosurgery or microsurgery in the management of acromegaly

Fifty-six patients with growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas, 28 treated by cryoablation and 28 by microsurgery, have been followed up from three to eight years. Mean serum growth hormone concentrations were less than 10 mU/L in 19 patients (68%) after microsurgery as compared with seven (25%) after cryosurgery. Hypopituitarism and operative complications were more frequent after cryosurgery. Transsphenoidal microsurgery was particularly successful in reducing growth hormone secretion without impairing normal pituitary function, when the patient had not been previously treated by another method.