Cushing's legacy to transsphenoidal surgery

Abstract

Cushing's experience with the surgical treatment of pituitary adenomas and other lesions producing the chiasmal syndrome is reviewed. The conclusion is that his ultimate rejection of the transsphenoidal route was not due to his dissatisfaction with this procedure, but rather came about because of the transfrontal route provided him with access to the pituitary and, at the same time, enabled him to verify all suprasellar tumors if the preoperative diagnosis was uncertain. Until he gave it up in 1929, Cushing used the transsphenoidal route preferentially when the sella was large. Some of his assistants in the clinic, notably Norman Dott, came away with a high and lasting regard for the operation, and Dott's subsequent influence on Gérard Guiot is a crucial link in the return of transsphenoidal surgery to its current preeminent position.