In most cases, pituitary tumors are benign and treatable. Doctors use surgery, medications and radiation to treat the tumors, depending on the type of tumor and the patient’s overall health.
The risks are when pituitary tumors are large, or are growing, and begin to hemorrhage, or bleed. This causes a sudden growth which pushes on optic nerves resulting in double vision or loss of vision. Without immediate medical attention, the vision loss can be permanent.
The easiest way, doctors say, to reach a pituitary tumor is to go through the sinus cavity to the base of the pituitary gland. Doctors do this through the patient’s nose or an incision under the upper lip. They then decompress the tumor. While it sounds difficult, the recovery is relatively easy with little pain or discomfort.
Doctors say pituitary tumors are treatable, but are not always curable. Patients have to follow the tumors through out their life to prevent re-growth.
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