Assessment of the Efficacy of Endoscopy in Pituitary Adenoma Resection

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Abstract
THE EMPHASIS placed on minimally invasive surgery has guided the evolution of surgical practice over the past century in all surgical subspecialties. Progress in the field of pituitary surgery in particular exemplifies this. Harvey Cushing, widely credited as the innovative force behind many modern neurosurgical techniques, had extensive experience with both transcranial and transsphenoidal approaches to the pituitary gland over the first half of this century.1-4 Based on these experiences, he ultimately concluded that the transcranial subfrontal approach, despite its invasive nature, was the procedure of choice for surgical management of pituitary tumors, especially those with suprasellar extension. His opinions were contested by his contemporaries, who argued that the less invasive transsphenoidal approach not only resulted in less morbidity but also that that the procedure was equally effective in providing access to suprasellar tumors.5-8