title: An incidental suprasellar mass in a military flying cadet: implications for aircrew.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Incidental findings pose a dilemma in aviation medicine, where every finding must be carefully considered in order to ensure the well-being of the aircrew for flight and mission safety. Since suprasellar masses are not uncommon, their possible effects should be addressed.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present an incidental finding of 11.5 mm × 14.4 mm, hyper-intense on T2 and iso-intense on T1-weighted images, of a suprasellar mass in a 19-yr-old man. This finding led to the re-evaluation of his position as a military flight cadet, followed by his later disqualification.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No medical waiver regarding asymptomatic suprasellar mass exists. We have carefully examined the differential diagnosis and generated a profile for each possible diagnosis consisting of risks for sudden incapacitation, progression likelihood, and the effect of an aerial environment on a brain lesion. We were able to draw up a medical waiver for some of the possible diagnoses (namely, Rathke's cyst or craniopharyngioma) for nonhigh performance aircraft.
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Doron
authors.forename: Erez
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carmon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D000401:Aircraft; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008889:Military Personnel; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult