Pituitary apoplexy after aortic abdominal aneurysm surgery : a case report

Pituitary apoplexy (PA) occurring after surgery is a rare but life-threatening acute clinical situation following extensive haemorrhage or necrosis within a pituitary adenoma. Pituitary apoplexy has been reported to occur spontaneously in the majority of cases or in association with various inducing factors. One of the pathophysiological mechanism that has been postulated is the fall of arterial blood pressure inducing ischaemia followed by infarction of the pituitary gland. We report a case of pituitary apoplexy following aortic abdominal surgery. To our knowledge, this has not been previously reported. A 73-year old man complained of headache and diplopia. At clinical examination, he presented a right oculomotor nerve palsy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a haemorrhagic sellar mass. In our case, intraoperative hypotension could have been the precipitating, factor. Diagnostic and therapeutic measures are discussed.