Pituitary apoplexy after subtotal thyroidectomy in an acromegalic patient with a large goiter.

A case of pituitary apoplexy occurring after subtotal thyroidectomy in an acromegalic woman with a large adenomatous goiter is described. The patient had severe apnea because the large goiter was causing airway compression. Prior to the planned hypophysectomy, a subtotal thyroidectomy was performed to relieve tracheal stenosis. Shortly after the operation, the patient developed a headache that lasted for several days. The serum levels of growth hormone and somatomedin-C spontaneously normalized seventeen days after this episode and have remained normal for two years. Pituitary apoplexy was thought to have caused the observed results without deterioration of the pituitary function.