Post-operative complications of Trans-Sphenoidal surgery in a local tertiary hospital during hospital stay

ABSTRACT

Introduction@#Endoscopic trans-sphenoidal surgeries are mainly the procedure of choice in pituitary adenomas with favorable results and varied outcomes arise from these techniques. The study aims to report the postoperative complications, and if these complications may have an impact on hospital stay.@*Methods@#This is a retrospective cross-sectional study. 47 patients were involved ages 19 years old and above who had trans-sphenoidal surgery (TSS) from January 2011 to December 2016. Data collected were focused on preoperative diagnosis and post-operative complications (prolonged intubation, post-operative vomiting, CSF leak, post-operative bleeding, adrenal insufficiency, diabetes insipidus, electrolyte imbalance). Chi-square and independent T-tests were used in this study.@*Results@#Most of the cases reported were nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma, prolactinoma and acromegaly. The study showed that the average length of stay of a patient who had undergone TSS is about seven days. Mean age of patients was 47 years old and 59% are males. The five most common complications while at hospital stay were headache (46%), throat irritation (38%), electrolyte imbalance (27%), SIRS (25%), and diabetes insipidus (10%). No sufficient evidence was appreciated with these complications comparing to the length of hospital stay.@*Conclusion@#Headache is the most common complication of post TSS. Comparing post-operative complications, it did not dictate the length of hospital stay.