text: acromegaly operation?   surgery is a rapid and effective treatment. the surgeon reaches the pituitary through an incision in the nose and, with special tools, removes the tumor tissue in a procedure called transsphenoidal surgery. this procedure promptly relieves the pressure on the surrounding brain regions and leads to a lowering of gh levels. if the surgery is successful, facial appearance and soft tissue swelling improve within a few days. surgery is most successful in patients with blood gh levels below 40 ng/ml before the operation and with pituitary tumors no larger than 10 mm in diameter. success depends on the skill and experience of the surgeon. the success rate also depends on what level of gh is defined as a cure. the best measure of surgical success is normalization of gh and igf-1 levels. ideally, gh should be less than 2 ng/ml after an oral glucose load. complications of surgery may include cerebrospinal fluid leaks, meningitis, or damage to the surrounding normal pituitary tissue, requiring lifelong pituitary hormone replacement. even when surgery is successful and hormone levels return to normal, patients must be carefully monitored for years for possible recurrence. more commonly, hormone levels may improve, but not return completely to normal. these patients may then require additional treatment, usually with medications.