What is Suprasellar mass?
Suprasellar masses are neoplastic, vascular, congenital, or infectious/inflammatory in origin. Suprasellar masses present with a variety of neurologic or endocrine dysfunctions depending on their site of origin and mass effect on adjacent structures.
What is Sellar Suprasellar?
The sellar region includes the sella turcica and the pituitary gland, together with the ventral adenohypophysis and dorsal neurohypophysis. The parasellar region encompasses the cavernous sinuses, suprasellar cistern, hypothalamus, and ventral inferior third ventricle.
What is Suprasellar Germinoma?
A suprasellar germinoma can be a primitive tumoral lesion or a metastatic lesion from a pineal germinoma. Germinomas are most commonly seen in adolescents and young adults: 90 % of patients are younger than 20 years.
What does Sellar mean?
: of, relating to, or involving the sella turcica the sellar region.
What is the suprasellar cistern?
Suprasellar Cistern. The subarachnoid space above the diaphragma sellae and the ventral aspect of the hypothalamus and brain stem, which is anteriorly and laterally limited by the anterior clinoid processes and the medial aspects of the temporal lobes, is commonly referred to as the suprasellar cistern.
What are suprasellar masses?
Suprasellar masses are neoplastic, vascular, congenital, or infectious/inflammatory in origin.
When is surgery indicated in the treatment of Sellar masses?
In patients with sellar masses, indications for surgery include the presence of mass effect (compression of the optic apparatus leading to visual field defects, diplopia, suspected pituitary apoplexy), hormone excess other than prolactin, sellar mass growth (even in asymptomatic patients), and the need to establish a tissue diagnosis.
What is the prevalence of incidentally found Sellar masses?
Incidental sellar masses are present in about 10-15% of the adult population; however, the vast majority of incidentally found lesions are relatively small (less than 10 mm in greatest diameter). Approximately 90% of sellar masses are pituitary adenomas. However, there is a large number of additional diagnostic possibilities to be considered.
What is the pathophysiology of Sellar masses in children and adolescents?
In children and adolescents with a sellar mass, craniopharyngiomas are the most common underlying pathology. In contrast, pituitary adenomas account for the vast majority of sellar masses in adults. Among pituitary adenomas, clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumors become more common with advancing age in adults.
