Surgical implications of the thickened pituitary stalk accompanied by central diabetes insipidus.

Object: The authors discuss the indications for and timing of a diagnostic neurosurgical procedure in children with diabetes insipidus (DI) and a thickened pituitary stalk (TPS) on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

Methods: Seven children with a TPS who presented with DI eventually underwent surgery for diagnostic purposes. The ages at onset of DI were 6 to 16 years, and the follow-up period until surgery was 26.