Recovery from diabetes insipidus and preservation of thyroid function after craniopharyngioma removal and pituitary stalk sectioning

Objectives Craniopharyngioma is a slow-growing tumor, but long-term tumor control with maintenance of quality of life is sometimes very difficult to achieve, and hypothalamic disturbance should be strictly avoided in the treatment. However, management of the pituitary gland and/or pituitary stalk varies among surgeons and institutions. Patients and methods This retrospective review identified 44 patients, 24 males and 20 females with craniopharyngiomas who were initially treated by surgery through the extended transsphenoidal approach with pituitary stalk sectioning at a single institute. If the tumor bed involved the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, pituitary stalk, anterior and/or mid portion of the third ventricle floor, these structures were removed en-bloc together with the tumor. The closest attention was paid to preserve fine arteries running along the surface of optic chiasm and the lateral walls of the third ventricle. Surgical outcome and changes in postoperative endocrinological status were investigated. Results Gross total removal was achieved in 40 of 44 patients (91%), and all patients could discharge without autonomic and/or thermal disturbances. Tumor remnants were identified with tight adhesion to the perforating arteries in 2 cases, tight adhesion to mammillary bodies in 1, and optic chiasm in 1. Administration of anti-diuretic hormone could be discontinued in 23 of 44 patients (52.3%) with improved diabetes insipidus (DI), although no patient could discontinue glucocorticoid administration. Preservation of thyroid function was achieved in another 23 of 44 patients (52.3%), and recovery from DI was correlated with preservation of thyroid function (p = 0.016). Conclusion Pituitary dysfunction is partially reversible even with pituitary stalk sectioning. Regrowth of tumor in the anterior and/or mid portion of the third ventricle floor including pituitary stalk can possibly be prevented by aggressive tumor removal, and co-achievement of long-term tumor control with maintenance of quality of life could be possible to preserve the lateral wall of the third ventricle.