How serious is pituitary tumor surgery?
How serious is pituitary tumor surgery?
Surgery on the pituitary gland is a serious operation, and surgeons are very careful to try to limit any problems either during or after surgery.
What happens after a pituitary tumor is removed?
It can take up to 6 weeks to fully recover. The cuts the doctor made (incisions) may be sore for about 5 days after surgery. You may also have numbness and shooting pains near your wound, or swelling and bruising around your eyes. As your wound starts to heal, it may start to itch.
How serious is a tumor on the pituitary gland?
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.
How long do you stay in the hospital after pituitary tumor surgery?
Recovery Time at the Hospital A typical hospital admission for patients undergoing pituitary tumor surgery lasts 2 to 3 days; overnight in the intensive care unit (ICU) and 1or 2 more on the nursing floor.
What are the side effects of having your pituitary gland removed?
Risks and complications that may occur with this type of surgery also include:
- CSF rhinorrhea. CSF, or cerebrospinal fluid, is the fluid that surrounds the brain, and it may leak from the nose after surgery.
- Meningitis.
- Damage to normal parts of the pituitary gland.
- Diabetes insipidus.
- Severe bleeding.
- Visual problems.
Can you live without a pituitary gland?
You can live without your pituitary gland as long as you take medication to replace the pituitary hormones that you’re missing. The pituitary gland hormones are very important for maintaining several bodily functions. An untreated lack of all the pituitary hormones is life-threatening.
Will I lose weight after pituitary tumor is removed?
In general, most patients lose all of the weight they are going to lose within a year of surgery with most of the weight loss occurring between four and eight months after surgery.
