Resultados Terapéuticos en pacientes acromegálicos: es tiempo de intervenir / Results of surgical treatment for acromegaly in 53 patients

ABSTRACT

Background: The treatment of choice for acromegaly is surgery that, according to the literature, is curative in 91 percent of pituitary microadenomas and 73 percent of macroadenomas. Aim: To report the results of surgical treatment in 53 patients with acromegaly. Material and methods: Retrospective review of medical records of all patients with acromegaly, operated between 1984 and 2004. When necessary, patients were contacted by telephone to complete information or to perform biochemical or imaging studies. A normal value of insulin like growth factor I (IGF-1) for age and sex, a growth hormone (GH) nadir of less than 1 ng/ml during a glucose tolerance test or a basal GH of less than 2.5 ng/ml, all assessed three months after surgery, were considered as criteria for cure. Results: Biochemical cure was achieved in 67 percent of patients with pituitary microadenomas and 21 percent of patients with macroadenomas. In 47 percent of patients with neuro-ophtalmological involvement, a partial or total recovery in the visual field defect was achieved. The most common surgical complications were transient diabetes insipidus in 19 percent, persistent diabetes insipidus in 4 percent and cerebrospinal fluid fistula in 4 percent. A lower size of the tumor and lower preoperative growth hormone levels were associated with a better chance of cure. Conclusions: The cure rates obtained in this group of patients are clearly lower than those reported abroad. These results stress the importance of having a national registry of acromegaly and the need to train neurosurgeons in the treatment of pituitary tumors.