How do you treat a Microadenoma?
In most cases, a microadenoma can be cured with endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery. In this procedure, a neurosurgeon reaches the tumor through the nasal passages and sphenoid sinus. Gamma Knife radiosurgery, which uses targeted beams of radiation to destroy the tumor, is another option.
What causes a Sellar Mass?
In children and adolescents with a sellar mass, craniopharyngiomas are the most common underlying pathology. In contrast, pituitary adenomas account for the vast majority of sellar masses in adults. Among pituitary adenomas, clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumors become more common with advancing age in adults.
What is a Parasellar mass?
Parasellar tumors are growths near the part of the brain known as the sella turcica. The most common surgical treatments for parasellar tumors are craniotomy and transsphenoidal surgery; the nonsurgical treatment is stereotactic radiosurgery.
What is the Parasellar region?
The parasellar region, located around the sella turcica, is an anatomically complex area representing a crossroads for important adjacent structures. Several lesions, including tumoral, inflammatory vascular, and infectious diseases may affect this area.
Where is the Parasellar region of the brain?
Are Microadenomas serious?
They are found in about 77 out of 100,000 people, although it is believed that they actually occur in as many as 20% of people at some point in their lives. However, many pituitary adenomas, especially microadenomas, do not cause serious symptoms and are never found.
Can Microadenomas be cancerous?
Symptoms of a pituitary microadenoma Many pituitary tumors are not cancerous and do not progress to cause symptoms. However, pituitary microadenomas are more likely to be functioning tumors, which means that they produce hormones.
What is the sella in the brain?
The pituitary is a small gland located just underneath the brain. It is attached to the bottom of the brain by the pituitary stalk. The pituitary sits protected inside a saddle-like bony compartment in the base of the skull. This compartment is called the sella.
Can Microadenoma cause death?
Microadenomas do not cause excess mortality. These tumors generally are too small to cause pain, diplopia, or pressure on the optic chiasm. Otherwise-normal anterior and posterior pituitary function remains intact. Any morbidity is caused by excessive hormone secretion or patient anxiety.
Is a Microadenoma serious?
However, many pituitary adenomas, especially microadenomas, do not cause serious symptoms and are never found. Macroadenomas are about twice as common as microadenomas. Pituitary adenomas can occur at any age, but are more common in people in their 30s or 40s. They are rarely found in those younger than 20.
What is mass lesion?
Brain mass lesions are a broad collection of pathological processes that result in changes on brain imaging (usually CT or MRI). They are a very disparate group of conditions ranging from infection (abscess) to brain tumors (benign and slow-growing, metastatic or primary high-grade brain tumor).
Is a pituitary lesion serious?
Most of these tumors are not cancerous. Pituitary cancer is very rare. Still, the tumors can cause serious problems, either because of their size (large tumors) or because they make extra hormones your body doesn’t need (functioning tumors). They’re typically treated with surgery, medicine, or radiation.