Galactorrhea-amenorrhea syndrome: follow-up of forty-five patients after pituitary tumor removal.

Forty-five patients with galactorrhea-amenorrhea were followed during a period of 1 to 8 years (mean 3.1) after transsphenoidal prolactinoma removal. The ratios of patients who appear to be cured to the total numbers treated were 20 patients of 27 with grade I tumors; six of 10 with grade II; two of five with grade III; and none with grade IV tumors. Six patients with normal prolactin levels one week postoperatively had relapse later, as did three with normal prolactin levels 2 months postoperatively. A normal prolactin level 6 months postoperatively predicted ultimate cure. The 19 pregnancies that occurred in 15 patients, four with high prolactin levels, were uneventful. Prolactin rose normally with pregnancy and returned to prepregnancy level in all but one patient. Prolactin responses to stimulation tests were blunted for 6 months after successful tumor removal. By 1 year, responses to thyrotropin releasing hormone and metoclopramide tests were returning to normal, although responses to chlorpromazine and hypoglycemia remained blunted. The postoperative inhibition of normal lactotropes for 6 months is suggested. Ultimate cure cannot be determined before 6 months and conception should be deferred until then.