Objective: The aim was to assess the factors influencing the visual outcome following trans-sphenoidal excision of pituitary adenomas.
Materials and methods: One hundred consecutive patients of pituitary adenomas with suprasellar extension (SSE) were operated by trans-sphenoidal approach from July 2003 to December 2006. There were 52 male and 48 female patients with a mean age of 42.47 years. The visual impairment score, which was used to evaluate the visual outcome was produced by adding the scores for visual acuity and visual field defects of each patient (from the tables of the German Ophthalmological Society). The mean diameter, the SSE and the parasellar extension of the lesion were noted in the magnetic resonance imaging study. The average follow-up was 43.5 months.
Results: The mean diameter of the tumor was 32.97 mm, and the mean SSE was 14.95 mm. The parasellar extension was present in 27 patients. The vision improved in 61 of the 71 patients (85.91%). The shorter the duration of visual symptoms and smaller the size of the lesion resulted in better visual outcome. The age and the preoperative visual impairment did not show any correlation with the visual outcome.
Conclusions: Patients with visual symptoms of <1-year duration (P < 0.01) and adenomas of <36.5 mm diameter (P < 0.009) have better visual outcome.
Keywords: Pituitary adenoma; suprasellar extension; trans-sphenoidal; visual outcome.