A retrospective review was performed on 11 patients who had undergone the transcolumellar transsphenoidal hypophysectomy in our center. There were eight females and three males with age ranging from 17 to 72 years (mean 50 years). Ten patients had pituitary macroadenomas and one had suprasellar cyst. The mean follow up duration for these 11 patients post surgery was 7.2 months. Complications included two cerebrospinal leaks, one postoperative sphenopalatine bleed, one septal perforation and one patient developed numbness of the tip of the nose. We found that this approach is a preferred alternative technique especially in smaller Oriental noses with lower complication rate and better aesthetic result.
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) due to internal auditory canal (IAC) stenosis with hypoplasia of the cochleovestibular nerve is a rare disorder. The diagnosis of the IAC stenosis requires both high resolution computed tomography scan (HRCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).