The AHN Pituitary Center Provides Specialized, Convenient, and Comprehensive Care for People With Pituitary and Neuroendocrine Disorders

Jody Leonardo, MD

(Credit: Allegheny Health Network)

Located at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, the center’s multidisciplinary team treats everything from Cushing’s disease and acromegaly, to prolactinoma and craniopharyngiomas, to tumors and Rathke cleft cyst. Patients can visit the center for their physician consultations, diagnostic imaging, lab studies, and treatments.

“This direct teamwork between physicians at one visit saves patients’ time, reduces their stress, and expedites their care plan,” said AHN Neurosurgeon Jody Leonardo, MD, the center’s codirector. “In addition to new patients, we often see patients who have already had surgery elsewhere or have been told by physicians that their condition cannot be treated.”

A referral to the AHN Pituitary Center includes consultations with AHN physicians from neurosurgery and endocrinology who will discuss the range of treatment options. The multidisciplinary care team also includes specialists from neuro-oncology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, radiation oncology, and radiology.

At their initial evaluation, patients may undergo endocrine lab tests to determine how the pituitary gland is functioning, an eye exam with particular attention to visual fields, a neurosurgical consultation, and an ENT exam if a tumor needs removed.

“Pituitary tumors require individualized care from multiple specialists,” Dr. Leonardo said. “At a patient’s initial appointment, we will spend ample time discussing the full range of treatment options available to them.”

Tumor symptoms patients may experience

Dr. Leonardo explained that not all pituitary tumors cause symptoms. The first sign of a tumor usually depends on whether the tumor is functional, by making excess hormones, or nonfunctional, by not making hormones.

Symptoms may include fatigue, nausea, weakness, unexplained weight loss or weight gain, feeling cold, and vision problems or vision loss. More advanced symptoms are excessive growth of the hands, face, and feet; changes in skin and body fat distribution; abnormal breast milk production; and changes in menstrual cycle.

The latest in tumor treatments

AHN surgeons often perform biopsies and pituitary tumor removals endoscopically, approaching through the nose and sinuses directly to the pituitary gland.

“Endoscopic endonasal surgery offers patients less postoperative discomfort, fewer complications, and a shorter recovery period,” Dr. Leonardo said.

Other therapies include microscopic surgery, minimally invasive keyhole or standard craniotomy, medical therapies that block tumor hormone production and can shrink certain tumors, and Gamma Knife^® stereotactic radiosurgery

“Sometimes we use a combination of treatments. For example, surgery may remove some of the tumor, while medication may relieve symptoms and sometimes shrink the remaining tumor,” Dr. Leonardo said. “This is why each patient receives extremely personalized care and treatments at our center.”

To make a referral to the center or for more information, call 412-359-8246.

Gamma Knife^® is a registered trademark of Elekta and used with permission.