ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Pituitary apoplexy is a >rare entity that presents with a sudden onset of headache associated with visual and endocrinological disturbances due to pituitary hemorrhage or infarction. It usually occurs in patients with an unknown pituitary adenoma. Cardiac surgery, and especially coronary artery bypass grafting, can be a precipitating factor in these patients. CASE REPORT: We report an 82-year-old male patient who presented with sudden headache and delirium, a right sixth cranial nerve palsy, a right temporal hemianopsia, and a severe loss of left eye visual acuity in the immediate post-operative course of a coronary artery bypass surgery. Pituitary apoplexy was demonstrated on both MRI and CT-scan. Trans-sphenoidal surgical decompression was performed 13 days after coronary artery bypass grafting, with immediate beneficial effect on the delirium and a partial recovery of visual disturbances. CONCLUSION: Pituitary apoplexy is a rare and life-threatening complication that may occur after cardiac surgery (coronary artery bypass, cardiac valve surgery), often precipitated by the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. It can occur after other surgical procedures (orthopedic, digestive, thoracic). The diagnosis must be considered during the early postoperative period in the presence of unusual and severe headache associated with visual disturbances.
