GIGANTISM AND ACROMEGALY - Treatment



Treatment of acromegaly depends partially on the size of the tumor, particularly whether or not the mass extends beyond the sella and whether or not the optic nerves are involved. Surgical results are often not as gratifying as with other pituitary neoplasms, presumably because the secretory cells are more widely dispersed and therefore are not entirely removed with the microsurgical tech­nique. External radiation using either standard co­balt or proton beams generally results in a slow decrease in elevated growth hormone levels and eventually arrests the progress of the disease, but at the cost of a high incidence of hypopituitarism. Bromocriptine has been far less effective in the treatment of acromegaly than in the treatment of the amenorrhea-galactorrhea syndrome.