Controlled Study of Pre‐ and Postoperative Headache in Patients with Sellar Masses (HEADs‐uP Study)

ABSTRACT Introduction Sellar masses are common intracranial neoplasms. Their clinical manifestations vary widely and include headache. We aimed to determine whether the prevalence and characteristics of headache in patients with sellar tumours differ from the general population and to investigate the effect of tumour resection on this complaint. Methods We performed a prospective, controlled study in a single tertiary centre and included 57 patients that underwent transsphenoidal resection for a sellar mass (53% females, mean age 53.5 ± 16.4) and 29 of their partners (controls; 45% females, mean age 54.8 ± 14.9). Outcome measures were prevalence, characteristics and impact of headache 1 month preoperatively and at neurosurgical follow‐up 3 months postoperatively. Results Preoperatively, the prevalence of regular headache (≥1 time per month) was higher in patients than in controls (54% vs. 17%, p