Secondary abscess formation in pituitary adenoma after tooth extraction - Case report

The presence of an abscess in a pituitary tumor is a very rare finding. The authors report the case of a 69-year-old man with a pituitary adenoma conf irmed by neuroimaging results, in whom a high fever, meningismus, and left- sided ophthalmoplegia developed 4 days after tooth extraction. The results of serial cranial magnetic resonance imaging were highly indicative of an a bscess formation within the pituitary adenoma. During surgery the tumor was approached transsphenoidally and removed. Histological examination confirm ed the presence of an abscess formation within the pituitary adenoma. It is most likely that the tooth extraction caused a bacteremia, which led to an inflammation with abscess formation within the pituitary adenoma. The auth ors conclude that invasive dental procedures should be avoided before plann ed resection of a pituitary adenoma.