Visual recovery following pituitary adenoma surgery: prognostic value of optical coherence tomography and suprasellar tumour volume.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of preoperative parameters such as retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, visual acuity (VA), visual field (VF), and tumour volume on postoperative outcomes in patients with pituitary adenoma.

Design: Retrospective study.

Participants: Two-hundred and seventy-six eyes from 142 patients were included.

Methods: All patients underwent a comprehensive ophthalmological evaluation both before and 12 months after the surgery. RNFL thickness was analyzed using optical coherence tomography. VF testing was carried out using the automated Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer 3. Two primary visual field (VF) parameters, mean deviation (MD), and pattern standard deviation (PSD), were recorded. Patients were categorized into 2 groups based on their visual field outcomes: the MD recovery group and the nonrecovery group. MD recovery was defined as an MD value greater than -2 dB at the 12-month postoperative follow-up visit.

Results: The mean BCVA was significantly improved postoperatively compared with the preoperative values (P = 0.001). Preoperatively, the upper, temporal, and inferior RNFL values were significantly higher in patients with normal visual fields compared to those with abnormal visual fields (P = 0.001 for upper and temporal, P = 0.008 for inferior). Preoperative suprasellar tumour volume was found to be lower in the MD recovery group (P = 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that preoperative inferior RNFL thickness were significantly associated with MD recovery (P = 0.023), and preoperative temporal RNFL thickness were significantly associated with VA recovery (P = 0.047).

Conclusion: RNFL thickness, VF parameters, and suprasellar tumour volume can serve as important prognostic indicators in patients with pituitary adenoma.