Relationship between Location and Size of Pituitary Adenoma and Visual Field Change

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the relationship between the location and size of pituitary adenoma and visual field change. METHODS: Fifty-two patients were diagnosed with pituitary adenoma and underwent tumor resection at the Department of Neurosurgery in our hospital between July 1999 and July 2004. Among them, we retrospectively studied that location and size of pituitary adenoma as related to visual field changes in 29 patients who had credible perimetry results and no other ophthalmologic problems that caused visual field changes. We obtained the information about the size and location of pituitary adenoma using MRI, and performed ophthalmologic examination such as perimetry and fundus examination. RESULTS: There were no visual field changes in 18 patients. The visual field changes observed were as follows; bitemporal hemianopsia in 4 patients who had inferior involvement of optic chiasm; scotoma in one eye and temporal hemianopsia in the other eye in 2 patients who had lateral and inferior involvement; bitemporal superior quadranopsia in 2 patients who had anterior and inferior involvement; and 3 patients showed visual field changes, but they had no optic nerve involvement of pituitary adenoma. The size of adenoma was not exactly related to visual field changes. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that visual field changes can be influenced by the location and size of pituitary adenoma.