What methods are used to treat pituitary tumors

The pituitary gland is an important organ that secretes hormones. Once you have a pituitary tumor, if the hormone secretion is abnormal, it will cause many changes in the body, such as amenorrhea, obesity, acne, headaches, decreased vision, etc. These are some symptoms of pituitary tumors. So, what methods are used to treat pituitary tumors? Let's take a look.

Treatment of pituitary tumors:

1. Surgical treatment of pituitary tumors:

1. Transcranial surgery: It is suitable for patients with large pituitary tumors and extensive invasive growth. Only a few cases require this approach.

2. Transsphenoidal approach: One is the transoral upper lip-nasal septum-sphenoid sinus approach; the other is the single-nostril approach to remove the pituitary tumor. This method does not require incision and directly reaches the sphenoid sinus to remove the tumor from one nostril, greatly simplifying the previous transsphenoidal approach surgery. It is similar to appendicitis surgery, with less trauma, less bleeding, fewer complications, and a shorter operation time. Skilled surgeons can usually complete the operation within 30 minutes.

2. Radiotherapy for pituitary tumors:

It is divided into conventional radiotherapy and gamma knife, which is only suitable for patients with small pituitary tumors and weak and sickly patients, and is prone to complications such as hypopituitarism.

3. Drug treatment of pituitary tumors:

For patients with prolactin-secreting pituitary tumors, taking bromocriptine alone can achieve satisfactory results, but it cannot cure the disease and requires long-term use. Once the drug is stopped, the tumor will enlarge. Since this drug is relatively expensive, few patients can afford it.

The above is an introduction to the treatment of pituitary tumors. I hope it will be helpful to you. Experts remind patients that for the same tumor, some people have obvious effects with medication, while others have little effect. This is because of differences in individual genes and different tumor gene mutations, which lead to different drug effects. Therefore, symptomatic treatment is critical!