Pituitary Surgery

The Department of Neurosurgery Pituitary Tumor Center under the direction of Dr. Steven N. Roper, provides you with comprehensive care for all pituitary tumors.

Pituitary tumors are generally benign tumors, but they can cause a wide variety of problems if unrecognized or untreated. These include problems with hormone imbalance (such as infertility, sexual dysfunction, hypertension, heart disease, abnormal milk production, abnormal weight gain, etc.) and neurological problems (such as loss of vision, double vision etc.).

Treatment of your pituitary tumor may include drugs, surgery, radiation therapy, or a combination of these treatments. There are also some tumors which are best observed without treatment because of their very slow growth. Dr. Roper holds a Neuroendocrine Clinic each week with a member of the Division of Endocrinology so that pituitary patients who need coordinated medical and surgical attention can get it quickly and efficiently.

Dr. Roper specializes in minimally invasive surgeries for the treatment of pituitary tumors. Most of these operations last about one hour and there is no incision or packing material placed in the nose (a major source of discomfort in some types of pituitary surgery). Most patients return home the day after surgery. Dr. Roper has performed over 1,100 pituitary surgeries.

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