Despite all the improvement in transsphenoidal surgery, the anatomical knowledge has been a main issue stressed by most authors 1 . In the transsphenoidal approach for pituitary adenomas, detailed preoperative planning with information regarding the sphenoid sinus, tumoral involvement of adjacent structures (cavernous sinus, suprasellar region, carotid arteries) and intercarotid distance (ICD) is critical. Despite that, there is little literature regarding the ICD at the parassellar region of the intracranial carotid arteries at its cavernous segment and its modifications due to the sellar pathologies, specially non-functioning pituitary adenomas 2,3,4,5,6 .Although vascular injuries have become less frequent over the years, with reports ranging from 0-3.8% 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20 , it is still considered one of the most important complications in the transsphenoidal approaches due to its potential hazardous effects and difficult management. Taking this into consideration, it is crucial that every surgeon knows exactly the carotid artery position and its relation to the lesion.This study has the aim to measure and analyze ICD in a series of patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas with no previous treatment and correlate the data with measurements in controls with no endocrinological, sellar or parassellar disease. AbstrACtObjective: To evaluate the intercarotid distance (ICD) of patients with pituitary macroadenoma and compare to heatlhy controls. Method: We retrospectively reviewed contrast-enhanced MRI images from twenty consecutive patients diagnosed with non-functioning pituitary macroadenoma, measured the ICD at two different levels (petrous segment -ICD1 and horizontal cavernous segment -ICD2) and compared to twenty paired controls. Results: There was no statistically significant difference of the mean ICD1 between the groups and subgroups. For the ICD2 there was statistically significant difference between the case and controls. However, there was no significant difference between the patients with smaller adenomas and the controls. In contrast, the patients with giant adenomas showed statistically significantly higher ICD2 than the controls. Conclusion: The ICD at the horizontal segment of the cavernous carotid tends to be wider in patients with giant pituitary adenomas than in healthy individuals or patients with smaller adenomas.Keywords: Pituitary gland; pituitary disease; internal carotid artery; endoscopy; sella turcica. resumo Objetivo: Avaliar a distância intercarotídea (DIC) de pacientes com macroadenoma de hipófise e comparar com controles saudáveis. Método: Foram analisados retrospectivamente imagens de ressonância magnética com contraste de vinte pacientes consecutivos com diagnóstico de macroadenoma hipofisário não-funcionante, medidas as DIC em dois níveis diferentes (segmento petroso -DIC1 e segmento cavernoso horizontal -DIC2) e comparados com vinte controles pareados. Resultados: Não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa da DIC1 média entre os grupos e su...