JOURNAL HOME CME HOME THIS MONTH PAST ISSUES ETOC COLLECTIONS AUTHORS REVIEWERS EDITORIAL BOARD FEEDBACK RSS HELP
		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by CORSSEN, G. Articles by CEBALLOS, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by CORSSEN, G. Articles by CEBALLOS, R.

Alcohol-Induced Adenolysis of the Pituitary Gland

A New Approach to Control of Intractable Cancer Pain

GUENTER CORSSEN, MD^*, M. CLIFFORD HOLCOMB, MD, ISMAIL MOUSTAPHA, MD, KEITH LANGFORD, MD, JIRI J. VITEK, MD^||, and RICARDO CEBALLOS, MD^**

*Professor and Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama 35294. Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama 35294. Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama 35294. ||Associate Professor, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama 35294. **Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama 35294.

Abstract

In exploring new modalities to control or ameliorate unbearable intractable pain associated with invasive cancer, the authors studied the effectiveness and safety of a new method involving the destruction of the pituitary by injection of absolute alcohol into the gland. Of a series of 24 patients undergoing pituitary adenolysis for control of cancer pain, 13 patients experienced complete and lasting relief and 10 showed significant improvement. The authors hope that the encouraging results obtained in this preliminary study will stimulate other investigators also to employ the trans-nasal, trans phenoidal approach to alcohol-induced hypophysectomy for the control of intractable pain due to advanced cancer.

Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999