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Need help on pituitary gland
Hey I just had an MRI done without contrast and the results say that the pituitary gland is prominent with a convexed superior border, what does that mean? I had the MRI done to check my Venus angioma. Would it have any thing to do with that?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Dear 007Pico,
Allibounds is right in the sense that most likely it is normal, but in case there is something there, the radiologists describe everything. If you do not have any endocrine abnormality, then most of the time an MRI is repeated in the future just to rule out any progression and to confirm that is the way the patient is and there is nothing underneath.
Thank you
Allibounds is right in the sense that most likely it is normal, but in case there is something there, the radiologists describe everything. If you do not have any endocrine abnormality, then most of the time an MRI is repeated in the future just to rule out any progression and to confirm that is the way the patient is and there is nothing underneath.
Thank you
That is fine if you have a type of tumor that works with medical management.
Read up - size is not the factor in all surgeries. Most are slow growers anyway. Meds don't work for all tumor types and some of the meds that exist or have come out may not be appropriate for long term or for all cases. So unless you know what your tumor is... it was not knowing what mine was for years that got me into trouble. They kept saying it was an incidentaloma. Nothing was further from the truth.
Read up - size is not the factor in all surgeries. Most are slow growers anyway. Meds don't work for all tumor types and some of the meds that exist or have come out may not be appropriate for long term or for all cases. So unless you know what your tumor is... it was not knowing what mine was for years that got me into trouble. They kept saying it was an incidentaloma. Nothing was further from the truth.
I'm sorry to hear you're suffering with Nelson's. My endo, neurosurgeon, and I aren't confident that neurosurgery is the right choice for me yet. I'm being medically managed right now.
As a long time pituitary patient, I would tell you that imaging is only a very small part of the diagnosis. Both of you should get several sets of testing to see of you have anything as it is the lab work, not really the imaging, that is the crux of the diagnosis.
If you read up, an enlarged gland usually means there is a tumor or something, somewhere.
As for seeing hyperplasia, I find that one iffy and complex. I can speak from experience as one of my lesions (for Cushing's) was hyperplasia and the radiologist saw nothing, while the surgeon saw a shadow at my last pre-op MRI. This was years after my tumor was constantly *shrinking* but it was just wrapping all around my pituitary. Lucky for me I had my other tumor, a prolactinoma, show up on the other side so they did not cancel surgery on me. Post-op, most doctors oddly refuse to accept the hyperplasia as the cause for my hormonal disorder even though I clearly had changes, and then it grew back. I then had my adrenals removed and my ACTH skyrocketed - putting me in a state of limbo where they cannot see the tumor, so few will consider that I have Nelson's syndrome, or that I even had Cushing's in the first place!
If you read up, an enlarged gland usually means there is a tumor or something, somewhere.
As for seeing hyperplasia, I find that one iffy and complex. I can speak from experience as one of my lesions (for Cushing's) was hyperplasia and the radiologist saw nothing, while the surgeon saw a shadow at my last pre-op MRI. This was years after my tumor was constantly *shrinking* but it was just wrapping all around my pituitary. Lucky for me I had my other tumor, a prolactinoma, show up on the other side so they did not cancel surgery on me. Post-op, most doctors oddly refuse to accept the hyperplasia as the cause for my hormonal disorder even though I clearly had changes, and then it grew back. I then had my adrenals removed and my ACTH skyrocketed - putting me in a state of limbo where they cannot see the tumor, so few will consider that I have Nelson's syndrome, or that I even had Cushing's in the first place!
Mine said the same thing! The report said "There is a slight convex margin of the superior aspect of the pituitary gland. This may represent some degree of hyperplasia."
My ex was a neurosurgeon, so I asked him about it. He wasn't concerned and said "He could be hedging. If there is an adenoma, he saw something slight. If there's really nothing, he could say 'Well, I just said it was slight' "
Was that a good answer? Probably not. Actually no, that answer sucked.
Good thing we're both here.
My ex was a neurosurgeon, so I asked him about it. He wasn't concerned and said "He could be hedging. If there is an adenoma, he saw something slight. If there's really nothing, he could say 'Well, I just said it was slight' "
Was that a good answer? Probably not. Actually no, that answer sucked.
Good thing we're both here.
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