The Role and Place of Endoscopic Endonasal Transsphenoidal Technique in Pituitary Surgery

Background: After more than 25 years (more than 7000 cases) of pituitary tumor treatment, we started using the endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach to sellar lesions 5 years ago. We have operated on 740 patients (pituitary adenomas, craniopharyngiomas, chordomas, etc.) using this technique. Aim: We analyzed the results of surgery in a series of 560 patients with pituitary adenomas (PAs), whose primary treatment mode was an endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal adenomectomy (EETA). Methods: We use the endoscopic endonasal monolateral or bilateral approach to the sella and perform tumor removal with a rigid endoscope with 0-, 30-, 45-, and 70-degree lenses without retractor or any postoperative nasal packing. Results: The EETA method shows less frequent complication rates than the standard transsphenoidal surgery, with the most serious complications affecting