Anesthetic management of a parturient for combined cesarean section and surgical removal of pituitary tumor -A case report-

• Main Authors: Ji-hyun Chung, Jeong-Ho Rho, Tae-Hyeng Jung, Seung-Cheol Cha, Han-Kil Jung, Cheong Lee, Seong-Chang Woo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korean Society of Anesthesiologists 2012-06-01
• Series: Korean Journal of Anesthesiology
• Subjects: cesarean section; pituitary tumor; pregnancy
• Online Access: http://ekja.org/upload/pdf/kjae-62-579.pdf

A 40-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because of bitemporal hemianopsia at 23 weeks of gestation. A brain magnetic resonance imaging showed a pituitary tumor having suprasellar extension. At 30 weeks of gestation, she complained of rapidly deteriorating vision and bitemporal hemianopsia in both eyes and the ensuing radiological examination revealed increased tumor size, displaced tumor location and compressed optic chiasm. The cesarean section was performed at 31 weeks and 3 days of gestation and simultaneous surgical removal of pituitary tumor was carried out due to the risk of irreversible blindness. Anesthetic management for combined cesarean section and brain surgery can be more complex and challenging for anesthesiologists, and the aim was to achieve both the control of intracranial pressure and fetal well being at the same time. In this case, maternal outcome was somewhat improved after the procedure, and neonatal complications were not detected.