Incidence of complications of the transsphenoidal microsurgical approach for neuroendocrine pituitary tumors in a third-level hospital over 5 years

Abstract

Objectives:The aim of the study was to analyze the incidence of complications in patients operated on using the Microsurgical Direct Transsphenoidal Endonasal Approach for pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNET) in our institution, with which we will be able to create preventive strategies in groups that present the highest frequency of complications, seeking to avoid the implications that this entails, reducing surgical times, days of hospital stay, and costs. Materials and methods: A retrospective, observational, and descriptive analysis of the records of patients treated at our institution for 5 years after surgery for PitNET by Direct Microsurgical Transsphenoidal Endonasal Approach. Results: In our series, the most frequent PitNETs were non-functioning (74.4%), followed by prolactinomas with 9 cases (20.9%) and, less frequently, ACTH producers with 2 cases (4.7%), with a mean of 47.9, 44.4, and 35.5, respectively, and standard deviation of 15.22, 18.35, and 3.53, respectively. Compared with the international literature, Lake et al. reported prolactinomas in 57%, non-functioning in 37% (p < 0.001), and ACTH-producing in 2% (p < 0.05), finding a statistically significant difference for the three types of tumors. Conclusions: Given the small size of our sample, we cannot analyze whether this difference that exists compared with the international literature is statistically significant, and there were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of complications compared with the international literature.