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Pediatric empty sella syndrome (emp·ty - sel·la - syn·drome)happens when a child’s pituitary gland is shrunken or missing from its usual location in the brain.
214-456-5959
Fax: 214-456-5963
469-303-2400
Fax: 469-303-2407
469-488-7000
Fax: 469-488-7001
Your child’s pituitary gland is located in the center of their brain, behind their eyes and inside a bony structure called the sella turcica. The pituitary gland produces certain hormones and also controls the release of hormones from other glands.
When the pituitary gland appears to be shrunken or is not visible within the sella turcica, it is called empty sella syndrome. The empty space left is instead filled with cerebrospinal fluid - the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
There are two types of empty sella syndrome:
When symptoms do occur, they most commonly include:
Most of the time, there are no symptoms of empty sella syndrome.
The only way to know if a child has empty sella syndrome is to examine the brain using imaging.