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Evolution of Pituitary Surgery and the Transsphenoidal Approach

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Transsphenoidal Surgery

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Abstract

Although pituitary surgery via the transsphenoidal approach has been performed for over a century, it has only gained widespread acceptance over the past 50 years. As various advances in illumination and magnification through microscopic and endoscopic approaches have improved the safety and efficacy of this technique, it has become the workhorse approach for surgery on the pituitary gland. Further advances, including better understanding of pituitary adenoma biology and improved reconstruction techniques, have extended the utility of this approach to treatment of pathology beyond the sella turcica and its contents. We review the history of pituitary surgery with an emphasis on advances with the transsphenoidal approach.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological Surgery, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA

    Luke Smith MD & Russell R. Lonser MD

  2. Surgical Neurology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Gautam U. Mehta MD

Authors
  1. Luke Smith MD
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  2. Gautam U. Mehta MD
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  3. Russell R. Lonser MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Russell R. Lonser MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Edward R. Laws, Jr

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Indianapolis Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Aaron A. Cohen-Gadol

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Weill Cornell Medical College New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA

    Theodore H. Schwartz

  4. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Jason P. Sheehan

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Smith, L., Mehta, G.U., Lonser, R.R. (2017). Evolution of Pituitary Surgery and the Transsphenoidal Approach. In: Laws, Jr, E.R., Cohen-Gadol, A.A., Schwartz, T.H., Sheehan, J.P. (eds) Transsphenoidal Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56691-7_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56691-7_1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56691-7

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