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Empty sella syndrome is a rare condition related to a part of your skull. This part is called the "sella turcica," which is a small, saddle-shaped space that holds your pituitary gland. In this syndrome, the sella turcica fills with spinal fluid. This fluid presses on the pituitary gland, making it flat. On an MRI scan, the sella looks "empty," but it is just filled with fluid.
read more about empty sella syndrome ...There are two types. "Primary" empty sella syndrome is the most common. It happens when a small tear in the barrier around the sella lets spinal fluid leak in. This is most common in women who are overweight and have high blood pressure. "Secondary" empty sella syndrome is caused by a known event, like a head injury, radiation treatment, or surgery in the pituitary area.
Most people with empty sella syndrome have no symptoms at all. The condition is often found by accident when a brain scan is done for another reason. When symptoms do happen, the most common one is a long-lasting headache. In rare cases, if the pituitary gland is very compressed, it can cause hormone problems or vision changes.
This condition is diagnosed with an imaging test of the brain. A doctor may order a CT scan or an MRI scan to look for the cause of headaches or other symptoms. The scan will clearly show if the sella turcica is filled with fluid and if the pituitary gland is flattened. A doctor will also do blood tests to check if your pituitary gland is making all of its hormones correctly.
If you have no symptoms and your pituitary gland is working, you do not need any treatment. If you have symptoms, the treatment focuses on the specific problem. For example, your doctor will give you medicine for headaches. If your blood tests show a low level of a certain hormone, you will be given hormone replacement medicine.
To understand this condition, it helps to visualize the skull's anatomy. The sella turcica is a cup-like depression in the sphenoid bone at the base of the skull. Normally, the pituitary gland fills this cup completely. In empty sella syndrome, the barrier that separates this cup from the brain is weak. Spinal fluid pushes down into the cup, squashing the pituitary gland flat against the bottom walls of the bone.
For most people, it is not a serious condition. The majority of people have no symptoms and their pituitary gland works just fine.
No. Your pituitary gland is still there. It is just flattened by the pressure from the fluid. For most people, this flattened gland still works normally.
Surgery is very rare for this condition. It is only needed if spinal fluid is leaking from your nose, which is not a common symptom.
You should see a doctor if you have chronic headaches that will not go away. You should also see your doctor if you have any changes in your vision or symptoms of a hormone problem, such as feeling very tired all the time, unexplained weight changes, or a loss of body hair.