PNIBLOG

Keyhole surgery is the concept of safely removing brain, skull base and pituitary tumors through smaller, more precise openings that minimize collateral damage to surrounding scalp, brain, blood vessels and nerves. A majority of these tumors can now be removed via one of the several keyhole approaches available nowadays, using a small craniotomy (bony skull opening) or an approach through the nostrils. These approaches are technically demanding, require specialized instrumentation, significant surgical expertise and are not appropriate for all tumors. Find out more.

Pituitary disorders caused by pituitary tumors are an under-diagnosed set of conditions that can wreak havoc on the hormonal system of the body resulting in a multitude of seemingly unrelated symptoms such as weight gain and vision loss. Find out more about these conditions.

What is it like to be a brain surgeon? Take a look behind the scenes and follow a young doctor through his day as a neurosurgery fellow in a busy practice at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California.

A former pituitary tumor patient joins forces with the Pacific Pituitary Disorders Center to bring awareness to Cushing’s disease and other pituitary tumor-related syndromes. Read about Sharmyn McGraw’s 7-year journey.

Pacific Neuroscience Institute & The Ohio State University Surgeons Host Master Class in Keyhole & Endoscopic Brain Surgery in January 2019. Find out more and surgeons can register now.

More than 25 percent of women with Cushing’s disease experienced their first symptoms within one year of giving birth, a small study by researchers at Pacific Neuroscience Institute found.

Pituitary disorders are still considered by some “rare”, although many experts consider them unfortunately rarely diagnosed. Find out what you can do in this article by Marriage & Family Therapist, Linda M. Rio.

Chronic and/or serious physical illness of any kind has far reaching effects that go far beyond the actual physical symptoms of the disease. Medicine focuses on the patient, so that people close to the patient are often ignored. Read about the deep impact of pituitary disorders on families and what can be done to overcome these challenges.

Keeping Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks and Meningitis at Bay. Defining the optimal exit strategy in pituitary and skull base tumor surgery, PNI authors have published a landmark article in the May 2018 issue of Journal of Neurosurgery. Leading the way in the field of minimally invasive surgery, PNI’s expert team reported on intraoperative repair of skull base defects and prevention of post-operative CSF leaks and meningitis in over 500 patients with pituitary tumors and skull base tumors.

The root cause of many hormonal imbalances is a small pea-size gland, the pituitary, sitting at the base of the brain, which often houses the tiniest of tumors. Patient advocate, Sharmyn McGraw raises awareness for the debilitating and often over-looked Cushing’s disease.