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Pituitary Surgery /Transnasal Skull Base Surgery

Dear Patient,

for almost 50 years our clinic has focused on surgical treatment of disorders in the region of the pituitary gland and the base of the skull which can be treated via the nasal passages. At present, we perform over 300 operations each year, making us the leading clinic in Germany for this type of surgery. Surgery on tumors represents the largest proportion of the operations performed. The age of our patients ranges from infants to the very elderly. 

About 80% of the operations are for the treatment of pituitary adenoma, including hormone-inactive adenoma, acromegaly, Cushing’s syndrome, or the rare TSHom. For these illnesses surgery is the treatment of choice. Recently, the number of operations for prolactinomas has increased significantly as international guidelines recommend, under certain conditions, surgery as an alternative to drug therapy. The remaining 20% of surgical treatments are for other pathologies such as craniopharyngiomas, Rathke’s cysts, metastases, chordomas, etc. The UKE participates, for example, in the Registry for Pediatric Craniopharyngioma as a neurological reference center, and the clinic also runs the Registry for Craniopharyngioma in Adults of the German Society of Endocrinology (DGE).

Transnasal surgery is suitable for the treatment of many tumors. We offer our patients this type of surgery as the preferred treatment, as this technique produces the best results and presents fewer risks in comparison to „open“ methods. Extended skull base surgery even allows us to reach midline processes of the anterior and posterior cranial fossa. 
Interdisciplinary care contributes to the success of treatments; the UKE has high-performance endocrinology, neuroradiology, anesthesiology and neuropathology departments, the last of which being the seat of the Pituitary Tumor Registry of the DGE. The clinic also has a modern pediatric clinic and intensive care unit at your disposal. The technical facilities of the clinic include: magnetic resonance tomography, computed tomography, digital angiography, a diagnostic high-performance laboratory, 3D video microscopy, endoscopy, intraoperative fluorescence techniques, neuronavigation, micro-Doppler, electrophysiology, etc. 

Typically, surgical treatment requires an inpatient stay of about 4-5 days. We will be happy to assist and advise you on the various options following diagnosis.

Please direct your treatment request to the UKE International Office.

Professor Dr. Jörg Flitsch 

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