Adrenalectomy with Minimally Invasive Approach

Objective: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is considered to be the standard technique for the surgical remoaval of the adrenal gland for benign conditions. This report is a four-year single centre experience with transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy. Methods: From 2015 to 2019 a total of 18 patients with a preoperative diagnosis of benign adrenal tumor were operated with minimally invasive approach. Patient’s demographics, histopathological findings, operation time, hospitalization time and complications were evaluated and compared with the literature.  Results: All of 18 operations were completed with minimally invasive approach without converting to open surgery. 5 right and 13 left adrenal glands were removed with laparoscopy. Indications were Cushing's syndrome in 9, Conn's syndrome in 6, Pheochromacytoma in 2 and a non functional adenoma in 1 patients. Histopathologic examination revealed an adenoma in 13 patients, hyperplasia in 2, Pheochromacytoma in 2 and a carcinoma in 1 patients. Avarege operation time was 122 minutes and hospital stay was 3.5 days. Conclusion: Benefits of laparoscopic adrenalectomy include shorter hospital stay, quicker recovery, less incidence of complications with reduced risk of herniation or wound separation. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy should be considered as the first choice treatment for benign adrenal tumors.