The pituitary gland is a tiny, pea-sized gland that controls the function of most other endocrine glands in the body. It is therefore sometimes called the master gland. It can over- or under-produce hormones that effect the thyroid, adrenal, testes and ovaries. It also controls growth and water balance. The gland is located at the base of your brain and can develop tumors that are almost always benign. Although the tumors are not generally cancerous, they can cause several difficulties, including vision problems, headaches and other health problems.

The experts at the USF Pituitary program offer highly specialized care for the management and treatment of pituitary disorders.

Conditions associated with pituitary dysfunction include:

• Acromegaly
• Craniopharyngioma
• Crushing's disease
• Non-functioning pituitary adenoma
• Pituitary cysts, including Rathke's cleft cyst
• Prolactinoma
• TSH-producing pituitary adenomas
• Hereditary syndromes: MEN-4, MEN-1, McCune Albright syndrome, Carney complex
• Hypophysitis
• Panhypopituitarism
• Pituitary dysfunction induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors
• Central Diabetes Insipidus

About Us

The USF Pituitary clinic has been serving patients since 2003. Each year we provide around 250 outpatient consultations and perform more than 60 endoscopic and transcranial pituitary surgeries at Tampa General Hospital. 

List of required information prior of requesting an appointment

• Diagnosis 
• Images and reports 
• Laboratories results 
• Name and contact information of primary care physician or referral provider.

Pituitary imaging: Contact information

• We offer imaging services at multiple locations in Tampa Bay Area.
• USF Radiology Center: 813-259-8845 & 813-396-2372
• Tampa General Hospital: 813-844-8288
• Tower Radiology Center: 813-874-3177

 Outpatient & Inpatient care

• We provide inpatient and outpatient service.
• Continuity of care by the same teams while you are seen in the inpatient stay at Tampa General Hospital and the outpatient setting. 
• In addition to state-of-the-art high-Definition endoscopic equipment, pituitary surgeries at Tampa General Hospital are performed in the IMRIS intra-operative MRI room. If required, a ceiling mounted 3 Tesla MRI magnet can be brought into the room and a high-definition pituitary MRI can be obtained during the surgery. This specialized operating room is only available in a handful of hospital in Florida.

Education & training 

Tampa General Hospital (TGH) is one of the most comprehensive medical facilities in West Central Florida. TGH is an acute patient care facility with modern operating rooms and intensive care units where the neurosurgery and endocrine fellows spend a portion of their training. Our skull base surgery program has a national and international reputation. Each year, one fully trained neurosurgeon, joins our program as a skull base fellow for an in-depth training in complex cranial surgeries. Annual courses are hosted at the USF Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) where surgeons from all over the world come train on simulators and learn advanced skull base techniques.

The USF Endocrinology Fellowship is a two-year program with three fellows positions per year. The program provides extensive supervised clinical training in different areas of the subspecialty of endocrinology and is committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive learning and professional working environment. Patient care occurs in Tampa General Hospital, James A. Haley VA Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center. At Tampa General Hospital, the USF endocrinology fellows and faculties collaborate with the USF Neurosurgery team and other subspecialties to provide multidisciplinary, highly specialized medical care in the management of pituitary disorders.

USF Endocrine Fellowship

Pituitary Tumor Board

Every 3rd Friday of the month:

• Physicians interested in participating in the USF/TGH Pituitary Tumor Board are welcome to do so. Please email Ms. Carole Picorelli at cpiccorelli@TGH.org, and you will be included in future notifications of our monthly meetings.
• Pituitary Submission Form [.docx]