A tumor in the Pituitary Gland, any help?!


Question:

A tumor in the Pituitary Gland, any help?

My Father-in-law was just diagnosed with a benign tumor in his Pituitary Gland.
We're not sure of the size. He has to have another MRI done of the Pituitary Gland to see exactly how big it is.
My Father-in-law has been having trouble with his balance when he walks, He always looks like he's staggering and going to fall. That was the reason for taking him to a Neurologist.

The bigger problem we're having is my Father-in-law is refusing to have it removed. He said he's 71 yrs old and he might out live it. He's just absolutely refusing.

The Neurologist is having more tests done but he's thinking that the tumor is growing out around the dome of the Pituitary Gland, which will then start to affect his Optical nerve.

Any thoughts on how to encourage him to have it removed , if it comes to this?
And is it really medically necessary to have it removed?

My Father-in-law is complaining because he is insisting that he is not having any trouble with his eye sight

Additional Details

2 weeks ago
Even though he has not gone to an eye doctor in years.
While the Neurologist was examining my Father in law, (in his first visit) it seemed he did not like what he saw while checking his eyes. He said the coordination was off (whatever that means with the eyes).
That's why he ordered the MRI to begin with.

Any thoughts on if we really need to have surgery to remove it?
Doctor did say it's a slow growing tumor.

2 weeks ago
It is true that if that affects his eye sight he will never get his eye sight back, even after the tumor is removed at that point, is that right?


Answers:

Has the doctor discussed a medical alternative. It sounds like your father has a prolactinoma. The are indeed slow growing and often (although not always) respond to "bromocriptine", which suppresses the tumor's growth even more...and may actually start to shrink it.

If it does comes down to the surgery, perhaps you could show your father-in-law some information on the surgery. I'm sure it sounds kind of creepy to have someone poking around in his brain, but it is actually not that difficult a procedure. They actually go up through the roof of the mouth, with a pointed instrument, so there is no shaving of the hair, removal of pieces of skull...that sort of thing. And the recovery time is very quick. Perhaps once he knows that he'll be more comfortable with the idea.

But again, I wouldn't assume yet that he will have to have surgery. Maybe the bromocriptine will be enough. By all means discuss the options with your doctor.

Edit: The damage to the eyesight is progressive. It starts out as little black spots in his vision...hardly noticeable at first. Over time if untreated, the spots get bigger and bigger. If the optic nerve is damaged by pressure from the tumor, I don't believe the damage is reversible. But the loss of sight is not progressive either. So once the pressure is released, he won't lose any MORE sight.




The consumer health information on answer-health.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.
Copyright © 2007-2011 answer-health.com -   Terms of Use -   Contact us

Health Categories