Symptomatic Cerebral Vasospasm After Transsphenoidal Adenoma Resection of the Pituitary

Abstract

Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) or vasospasm following transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) is a life-threatening and life-altering event that could potentially cause devastating complications, neurological morbidity, and high mortality. Herein, we report the case of a 16-year-old woman without a marked medical history and unusual complications after TSS for pituitary adenoma resection who developed cerebral vasospasm and infarction after TSS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case involving a patient under 18 years old and requiring thrombectomy after TSS. Additionally, we present our review of published case reports to underline the most often presentation characteristics, the interval between TSS and vasospasm, and therapeutic management. With respect to our case, we analyzed 27 cases of TSS complicated by symptomatic vasospasm. We include only pituitary adenoma resection and exclude other causes. The mean age was 47.33 ± 15.22 years at the time of surgery, and the male-to-female ratio was roughly equal among cases (female: 51.9%). Following surgery, 85.2% of patients experienced subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and 22.3% experienced cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage. The mean clinical presentation time of vasospasm ranged from 3 to 13 (mean: 7.5 ± 2.6) days after TSS. At discharge, 51.8% of cases at least had one neurologic complication, including six dead patients (18.5%). A high index of suspicion for vasospasm has been recommended because of the diverse symptoms of this rare condition and the high mortality rate.

J Neurol Res. 2022;12(3):132-138
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jnr729