The purpose of this study is to determine the effects on the heart of injecting local anaesthetic into the nose prior to surgery on the pituitary gland?

People sometimes require surgery on their pituitary gland. This is a gland at the base of your brain which secretes hormones. At the Royal Hallamshire Hospital the investigators are currently conducting a study into the effects of local anaesthetic (a medicine which causes numbness) injection on patients undergoing this particular type of operation.

After patients are anaesthetised (asleep) but before surgery starts the surgeon injecst a local anaesthetic solution into the nose. This is routine practice and is done to provide pain relief afterwards and also to decrease the amount of bleeding during the operation to ensure that the surgeon has a good view.

The investigators have known for a long time that local anaesthetic affects the heart rate and blood pressure, however the investigators would like to describe exactly how, in much more detail.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Any adult patient undergoing trans-sphenoidal pituitary surgery.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Under 16 years of age, pregnancy, uncontrolled hypertension, allergy to any local anaesthetic, patient refusal or revision pituitary surgery.

Patients undergoing trans-sphenoidal resection of a pituitary tumour.