OBJECTIVE: Most patients with microprolactinomas have to take dopamine agonist for a lifetime. Many of them in our center have consulted endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery as an alternative therapy.
METHODS: The current study is a retrospective cohort analysis of 42 patients with microprolactinoma underwent endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery between January 2010 and December 2023 by experienced neurosurgeons in our center.
RESULTS: The mean follow-up duration was 30.17 months (range, 13.00-45.40). The short-term (postoperative day 1) remission rate was 95.24% and the long-term (over 1-year follow-up) remission rate was 92.86%. As to remission, the pattern of prolactin level changes on postoperative day 1 was significantly associated with recurrence. In hypoprolactinemia group, all 29 patients showed remission at the 1-year follow-up. In patients with normal PRL levels, 10 out of 11 patients showed remission, while 1 out of 11 patients showed recurrence at the 1-year follow-up. In hyperprolactinemia group, all 2 patients showed recurrence at the 1-year follow-up. Moreover, adenoma location was significantly associated with recurrence as well. In the recurrent group (3 patients), 2 patients belonged to the uncertain group, while the other patient belonged to the lateral group. The surgical complications were temporary and resolved shortly after surgery.
CONCLUSIONS: According to our findings, endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery performed on patients with microprolactinomas at advanced pituitary tumor centers could be an option with high success rates and low complications. Moreover, improving MRI imaging techniques and/or multidisciplinary team discussion before surgery for microprolactinoma could improve tumor remission after surgery.

BACKGROUND: To identify a screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and evaluate the effects of endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery on improving OSA in patients with acromegaly.
METHODS: We prospectively enrolled adults with acromegaly scheduled for endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery. All measurements were conducted when participants were admitted for a baseline work-up for acromegaly before surgery and surveillance approximately 3 to 6 months after surgery. Respiratory event index (REI) was used as a surrogate for apnea-hypopnea index (Trial Registration: NCT03526016).
RESULTS: Of the 35 patients with acromegaly (median age, 47 years; 40% men; median body mass index, 24.4 kg/m2), 24 (68.6%) had OSA (REI ≥5/hour), 15 (42.9%) had moderate-to-severe OSA (REI ≥15/hour). At baseline, serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels were positively correlated with the REI (ρ=0.53, P=0.001). The sensitivity and negative predictive value of a Snoring, Tiredness, Observed apnea, high blood Pressure-Body mass index, age, Neck circumference, and Gender (STOP-Bang) score ≥ 3 were 93.3% and 87.5%, respectively, detecting moderate-to-severe OSA. Biochemical acromegaly remission was achieved in 32 (91.4%) patients. The median difference in the REI was -9.5/hour (95% confidence interval, -13.3 to -5.3). Half of the 24 patients diagnosed with OSA preoperatively had REI <5/hour postoperatively. In a linear mixed-effects model, changes in the REI across surgery were related to changes in IGF-1 levels.
CONCLUSIONS: The STOP-Bang questionnaire is a reliable tool for OSA among patients with acromegaly. Improvement in OSA severity after surgery is related to decreased IGF-1 levels.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative delayed hyponatremia (PDH) is a major cause of readmission after endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (eTSS) for pituitary adenomas (PAs). However, the risk factors associated with PDH have not been well established, and the development of a dynamic online nomogram for predicting PDH is yet to be realized. We aimed to investigate the predictive factors for PDH and construct a dynamic online nomogram to aid in its prediction.
METHODS: We analyzed the data of 226 consecutive patients who underwent eTSS for PAs at the Department of Neurosurgery in Jinling Hospital between January 2018 and October 2020. An additional 97 external patients were included for external validation. PDH was defined as a serum sodium level below 137 mmol/L, occurring on the third postoperative day (POD) or later.
RESULTS: Hyponatremia on POD 1-2 (OR = 2.64, P = 0.033), prothrombin time (PT) (OR = 1.78, P = 0.008), and percentage of monocytes (OR = 1.22, P = 0.047) were identified as predictive factors for PDH via multivariable logistic regression analysis. Based on these predictors, a nomogram was constructed with great discrimination in internal validation (adjusted AUC: 0.613-0.688) and external validation (AUC: 0.594-0.617). Furthermore, the nomogram demonstrated good performance in calibration plot, Brier Score, and decision curve analysis. Subgroup analysis revealed robust predictive performance in patients with various clinical subtypes and mild to moderate PDH.
CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative PT and the percentage of monocytes were, for the first time, identified as predictive factors for PDH. The dynamic nomogram proved to be a valuable tool for predicting PDH after eTSS for PAs and demonstrated good generalizability. Patients could benefit from early identification of PDH and optimized treatment decisions.

Objectives  Despite the limited invasiveness of endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (ETSS), some degree of nasal structure destruction is unavoidable. Our objective was to evaluate sinonasal morbidity and self-reported health before and 6 months after ETSS for pituitary tumors, and to identify possible predictive factors for deterioration in sinonasal health. Design  Prospective observational cohort study. Setting  University tertiary referral hospital. Participants  Totally 109 consecutive adult patients undergoing ETSS for pituitary tumors between 2015 and 2019. Main Outcome Measures  Sinonasal symptoms and self-reported health before and 6 months after ETSS, assessed by the Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) and the EQ-5D questionnaire. Predictive factors for postoperative deterioration in sinonasal symptoms. Results  The overall SNOT-22 score did not change, but the score of the rhinologic domain of SNOT-22 worsened from 6.0 ± 5.9 before to 8.0 ± 7.4 6 months after surgery ( p  = 0.011). The EQ-5D visual analog scale improved from 64.0 ± 22.9 before to 71.1 ± 18.7 6 months after surgery ( p  = 0.00088). Univariate and multivariable regression analyses showed that prior sinonasal surgery was associated with a significant worsening in rhinologic symptoms 6 months after surgery ( p  = 0.046 and p  = 0.020, respectively). Conclusions  Although self-reported overall health improved, significant deterioration of rhinologic symptoms was seen 6 months after ETSS. This information is important for preoperative patient counselling. Further refinement of the surgical technique and follow-up strategies to reduce postoperative sinonasal morbidity could be of value, especially in patients who have undergone prior sinonasal surgery.

Endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery is safe and effective for sellar and parasellar tumor removal. Partial middle turbinate (MT) resection is sometimes performed to optimize the surgical field and facilitate postoperative care. Disturbances in olfaction are concerning because of the lack of randomized studies in this field.
Prospective randomized trial.
Single academic medical center.
We resected the lower halves of bilateral MTs in the resected group and laterally fractured bilateral MTs in the preserved group. Olfactory outcomes and sinonasal conditions were assessed by using the validated Taiwan Smell Identification Test and Lund-Kennedy Endoscopy Score, respectively. Forty-nine patients were enrolled in the final analysis, of whom 23 underwent partial MT resection.
The average Taiwan Smell Identification Test result was 36.9 one month after surgery, with a significant change of -4.4 ± 3.1 (mean ± SD; P < .01) from baseline. The impact was not significant at 3 months (-2.1 ± 2.6, P = .13) or 6 months (0.3 ± 2.0, P = .79). Between the MT resection and preservation groups, there were no significant differences at postoperative 1 month (P = .60), 3 months (P = .86), and 6 months (P > .99). Lund-Kennedy Endoscopy Score was still higher at 3 months (P = .006) after surgery but returned to the preoperative level at 6 months (P = .63).
Endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery may affect olfaction at 1 month after surgery, and olfactory function is expected to return after 3 months. Partial MT resection did not result in additional olfactory loss. It is safe to perform partial MT resection during surgery without compromising the olfactory outcomes.

One of the most serious/potentially fatal complications of transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) is internal carotid artery (ICA) injury. Of 6230 patients who underwent TSS, ICA injury occurred in 8 (0.12%). The etiology, possible treatment options, and avoidance of ICA injury were analyzed. ICA injury occurred at two different stages: (1) during the exposure of the sella floor and dural incision over the sella and cavernous sinus and (2) during the resection of the cavernous sinus extension of the tumor. The angiographic collateral blood supply was categorized as good, sufficient, and nonsufficient to help with the decision making for repairing the injury. ICA occlusion with a balloon was performed at the injury site in two cases, microcoils in two patients, microcoils plus a single barrel extra-intracranial high-flow bypass in one case, stent grafting in one case, and no intervention in two cases. The risk of ICA injury diminishes with better preoperative preparation, intraoperative navigation, and ultrasound dopplerography. Reconstructive surgery for closing the defect and restoring the blood flow to the artery should be assessed depending on the site of the injury and the anatomical features of the ICA.

Some studies have highlighted psychological and neuropsychological difficulties and a potential reduction in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with pituitary tumors, despite hormone deficits or excess. To the authors\' knowledge, this study is the first prospective longitudinal case-control study with the aim of simultaneously testing whether HRQOL and psychiatric and neuropsychological disabilities are related to neural dysfunction due to hypercortisolism per se, or tumor mass and/or surgery in patients with Cushing\'s disease (CD). The authors evaluated a homogeneous cohort of patients with CD and nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) before and after neurosurgery and compared these patients with healthy controls.
Twenty patients (10 with NFPA and 10 with CD) were evaluated using 3 validated questionnaires (SF-36, Beck Depression Inventory-II [BDI-II], and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II [MMPI-II]) to assess HRQOL and psychological status preoperatively and 12 months after neurosurgery. Neuropsychological tests were assessed preoperatively, 3-7 days postoperatively, and 12 months postoperatively. Twenty healthy matched controls were recruited.
Preoperatively, the NFPA and CD subgroups had worse HRQOL scores than controls on the basis of SF-36 scores, although the NFPA subgroup experienced significant recovery 12 months postoperatively. Preoperatively, CD patients had depressive symptoms according to the BDI-II and MMPI-II that persisted 12 months postoperatively, together with social introversion and hypochondriasis; NFPA patients were similar to controls except for hypochondriasis scores that were clinically significant at all timepoints. Preoperatively and 3-7 days postoperatively, both subgroups showed significant neuropsychological disabilities compared with controls, but only the CD subgroup did not completely recover over time.
HRQOL and neuropsychological impairments were observed in all patients at early timepoints, independent of hypercortisolism, tumor mass, and successful surgery. Over time, CD patients showed persistent changes in HRQOL, in particular in social activities. In this light, CD seems to have a strong impact on HRQOL and to be associated with more psychological and neuropsychological comorbidities than NFPA.

Nano-hemostats are synthetic amino acid chains that self-assemble into a scaffold under certain conditions. These have been shown to be effective in stopping bleeding in small animal models of hemorrhage. Proposed mechanisms for their effect are that they form a mesh analogous to the fibrin plug in native hemostasis and that they may potentiate both platelet activation and the coagulation cascade. These may potentially become valuable adjuncts to endoscopic skull base surgery where there is the potential for both major vessel injury and smaller perforator injury to eloquent areas where bipolar cautery may not be suitable. We present a summary of the clinical studies to date and a small pilot study of nano-hemostat in an endoscopic sheep model of major vessel hemorrhage to determine its efficacy in stopping bleeding in this potentially catastrophic complication.

BACKGROUND: A certain interest for the extended endoscopic endonasal approach for the management of sellar-suprasellar lesions extending inside the third ventricle has been growing in recent years. The aim of this anatomical study was to evaluate the possibilities in terms of exposure and access to the different areas of the third ventricle, with the endoscopic endonasal technique, as compared with the microscopic or endoscopic view provided via different transcranial approaches. The advantages and limitations of both surgical pathways were analyzed.
METHODS: Ten human cadaver heads were dissected. In order to standardize the comparison between the endonasal and the transcranial routes, the third ventricle cavity has been divided into four areas by means of two ideal planes, one passing through the optic chiasm and the interthalamic commissure and one passing through the posterior edge of the foramen of Monro and the interthalamic commissure. Accordingly, two anterior (infundibular and foraminal) and two posterior (mesencephalic and tectal) areas have been defined.
RESULTS: The endoscopic endonasal approach allows for exploration and surgical maneuverability, especially in the anterior areas of the third ventricle. In the infundibular and foraminal areas the surgical maneuverability seems to be better as compared with that obtained inside the mesencephalic region, while via the endonasal route the tectal area could not be reached. In particular, the infundibular area can be explored either passing through the lamina terminalis or via the tuber cinereum; this latter trajectory enables visualization of the foramina of Monro and the floor of the third ventricle up to the pineal recess.
CONCLUSIONS: This anatomical study shows that the lamina terminalis and, above all, the tuber cinereum represent two safe entry points defining possible surgical corridors to be considered for the extended endoscopic endonasal approach to the third ventricle.