Neurological, visual, and functional outcomes of surgically treated sellar region tumours in patients with advanced presentation in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Background
Published data on the pathology and treatment outcome of sellar region tumours (SRTs) in Nigerian patients are limited.

Methods
This is a retrospective study of the clinico-radiological data of patients with SRTs treated surgically and followed up for at least 6 weeks at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, over twenty years.

Results
Fifty-three out of 133 patients operated for SRTs during the study period met the follow-up criteria. The age range was 4-60 years {mean: 34.8 (SD: 16.6)}, while the male: female ratio was 1:1.04. All the patients had either large or giant tumours. Eighty-nine percent of these received surgical treatment via transcranial approaches, whereas the rest were operated upon via the endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach. The neurological status of the patients was improved in 88% at 6 weeks, 82% at 6 months, and 83% at 1 year after surgery. Improvement in their visual function was observed in 50% at 6 weeks, 54% at 6 months, and 84% at 1 year postoperatively. Endocrine function improved in 40% of the patients one year following surgery. The patients’ Karnofsky performance score significantly improved after surgery (B [SE] = 0.831[0.170]; standardised β = 0.742; P = 0.001).

Conclusion
Our patients' visual and neurological status significantly improved postoperatively despite their late presentation and limited resources for minimally invasive surgical approaches. However, the patients' endocrine outcomes were unsatisfactory. Tumour size was not a significant determinant of neurological, visual, or endocrine outcomes in our study.