Pituitary apoplexy following heart surgery: a comprehensive review of the literature

Pituitary apoplexy is a rare but potentially life-threatening clinical syndrome caused by the sudden enlargement of a pituitary adenoma secondary to hemorrhage or infarction. Pituitary apoplexy after cardiac surgery is a very rare perioperative complication. Factors associated with open heart surgery that may lead to pituitary apoplexy include hemodynamic instability during cardiopulmonary bypass and systemic heparinization. We report a case of pituitary apoplexy after mitral valvuloplasty with cardiopulmonary bypass. After early pituitary tumor resection and hormonal replacement therapy, the patient made a full recovery.

Pituitary apoplexy is a syndrome with variable clinical manifestations depending on which parasellar structures (such as the optic nerves and chiasm, cavernous and sphenoid sinuses, or the hypothalamus) are compressed when the pituitary undergoes rapid enlargement. Factors associated with cardiopulmonary bypass that may lead to pituitary apoplexy include ischemia, hemorrhage, edema, and positive pressure ventilation. Seven cases of pituitary apoplexy following cardiopulmonary bypass have been reported, including the present case. Transsphenoidal surgical decompression in the present case and those previously reported appears to be safe after cardiac surgery and may be helpful in amelioration of compression of nearby structures. Pituitary apoplexy should be considered as a diagnostic possibility in patients who develop visual disturbances or ophthalmoplegia following open heart surgery.

From the literature and our own experience, 11 cases of hemorrhage or infarction of a pituitary adenoma associated with cardiac surgery have been identified over a 13-year period. Males outnumbered females by 10 to 1. Symptoms observed were headache, lethargy, confusion, obtundation, unilateral ptosis, meiosis, and opthalmoplegia involving cranial nerves III, IV, and VI, visual field deficits, and hemiparesis. Diagnosis in most recent cases has been confirmed with computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. All patients received adrenocortical steroid therapy initially. Eight patients underwent transsphenoidal hypophysectomy and all survived. One patient underwent decompression craniotomy and died. Intracranial surgery was deferred in 1 patient who survived and in another who died of a massive stroke. Residual neurological deficits were noted to be either absent, minimal, or resolving in 7 of the 9 patients who survived their initial hospitalization. While numerous mechanisms have been proposed to explain the hemorrhage and necrosis of a pituitary adenoma during heart surgery, no direct cause has been clearly identified. Surgical treatment is commonly necessary since untreated pituitary apoplexy is often fatal. Transsphenoidal hypophysectomy with decompression is the preferred method of treatment with a low perioperative mortality and fairly good long-term prognosis.