Cesare Cavina (1888-1935): a father of transsphenoidal surgery.

Among the fathers of transsphenoidal surgery, a relevant role should be reserved for Cesare Cavina (1888-1935). He had the merit to develop and popularize in Italy this approach for pituitary tumors, performing 47 transsphenoidal hypophysectomies out of his personal series of 66 patients between 1927 and 1935. He contributed to this surgery by introducing radiological control of the surgical trajectory to reduce the risk of complications and increase the safety of this approach. We think that both his short lifespan (he died when he was 47 years old) and the language of his papers (Italian and not English) are two important factors that have contributed to forgetting his role in the history of transsphenoidal surgery. We think that Prof. Cesare Cavina is definitively one of the fathers of transsphenoidal surgery and that it is important to preserve his memory.