Surgery of the pituitary gland.

Increasing diagnostic sophistication among endocrinologists has continually expanded the horizon of surgical treatment of adenohypophyseal problems. This advancement in endocrinology has been paralleled by improvement in the technical sophistication of neurosurgeons which has resulted in an increasingly aggressive approach to these serious disorders. Neurosurgical treatment is clearly able to provide resolution of significant physical disorders with minimal sequelae. The apparent potential for transsphenoidal approaches to the sella turcica as described within this paper has intrigued a number of neurosurgeons throughout this century. Their continuing interest has carried this procedure to a secure position in the management of many of these complex problems. This paper describes the author's experience with 132 consecutive transsphenoidal hypophysectomies.