Impaired growth hormone secretion in patients operated for pituitary adenomas

The frequency of growth hormone (GH) deficiency in patients operated for pituitary neoplasms of various size and type was investigated using the insulin tolerance test. 45 patients were included in the study. 20 of the patients had a non-hormone secreting pituitary neoplasm, 9 had GH-, 6 ACTH-, 7 prolactin secreting adenomas and 3 had a craniopharyngeoma. Complete endocrinological examination was obtained in all patients after pituitary surgery. Apart from patients operated for GH secreting adenomas, GH deficiency was very common after pituitary surgery (92%), even in patients operated for small lesions. Among the 45 patients LH/FSH deficiency was found in 33%, ACTH in 33%, TSH in 18% and ADH deficiency in 9% of the patients. In this study, impaired GH secretion was found to be independent of the size of the tumors and was present in nearly all patients after pituitary surgery (with exception of GH secreting adenomas). Deficiencies of other pituitary hormones were predominantly observed after surgery for large tumors.