Pituitary Surgery

Pituitary tumors at the base of the skull were once considered inoperable can now be removed minimally invasively at Florida Hospital with a procedure that is performed through the patient’s nose, which is an endoscopic endonasal approach to brain surgery. Florida Hospital is one of the hospitals performing this extraordinary procedure in the state of Florida.

Through medical innovation and extensive training, our physicians are able to remove tumors without large incisions by using the nose. It’s a natural corridor to the brain and allows them to navigate to the base of the skull using an enodscopic camera less than 5 millimeters in size. They are able to see the tumor in greater detail and work through the small corridors with less disruption to the surrounding brain.

Traditionally, surgery to remove a skull base tumor would take more than 12 hours. This procedure often takes less than four hours and many patients go home in one to three days. Patients also experience less pain, have a faster recovery, and there are no bandages or external scars. Most importantly, the outcomes for endoscopic skull base surgery are much superior to traditional surgical procedures. For example, a patient’s pain level is less than a third of what they experience with traditional surgery and they are able to return to work after surgery around 14 days compared to 49 days.

To learn more about pituitary surgery, contact us.