EARLY EXPERIENCES WITH ENDOSCOPIC ENDONASAL TRANSSPHENOIDAL SURGERY

Objective: Pituitary tumors (PT) constitute 10-15% of intracranial tumors, and 90% of surgically treated PTs are pituitary adenoma (PA). PA can be treated using pharmacologic, surgical, and radiotherapeutic methods. Today, endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery (EETS) is more commonly performed because it is less invasive, provides a panoramic image, enables better evaluation of anatomic structures and adjacencies, and reduces hospital length of stay compared to other surgical methods. In this study, we evaluated the results of 21 patients who underwent EETS in our clinic. Methods: A total of 21 patients who underwent EETS between 2016 and 2020 in our clinic were evaluated retrospectively. Thirteen (61.90%) of the patients were women, 8 (38.09%) were men, and the mean age was 53.71 (24-73) years. Results: Pathology reports indicated pituitary adenoma in 17 patients, Rathke's cleft cyst in 3 patients, and hypophysitis in 1 patient. Rhinorrhea occurred in 3 patients, transient diabetes insipidus (DI) in 1 patient, and hypopituitarism in 2 patients. Two of the patients died. Conclusion: The acquisition of endoscopic experience involves a learning curve in which there is initially a temporary high incidence of perioperative complications. Compared with the literature, our results are consistent with the beginning of the learning curve.