Transsphenoidal microsurgery for Cushing's disease: initial outcome and long-term results.

Untreated Cushing's disease and the resultant chronically elevated glucocorticoid levels lead to severe metabolic disturbances, including diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypertension, muscle wasting, and osteoporosis. Although transsphenoidal resection has become the standard of care for Cushing's disease with high initial success rates, little information is available on the long-term morbidity and mortality of patients in remission compared with patients with recurrent or persistent Cushing's disease after such treatment. We therefore conducted a retrospective study of 289 patients with Cushing's disease who underwent transsphenoidal microsurgery for an ACTH-secreting adenoma at a tertiary care center exclusively by one surgeon (C.