Surgical Indications and Techniques for Adrenalectomy

Özet

Indications for adrenalectomy are malignancy suspicion or malignant tumors, non-functional tumors with the risk of malignancyand functional adrenal tumors. Regardless of the size of functional tumors, they have surgical indications. The hormone-secretingadrenal tumors in which adrenalectomy is indicated are as follows: Cushing’s syndrome, arises from hypersecretion of glucocorticoidsproduced in fasciculata adrenal cortex, Conn’s syndrome, arises from an hypersecretion of aldosterone produced by glomerulosaadrenal cortex, and Pheochromocytomas that arise from adrenal medulla and produce catecholamines. Sometimes, bilateral adrenalectomy may be required in Cushing's disease due to pituitary or ectopic ACTH secretion. Adenomas arise from the reticularis layerof the adrenal cortex, which rarely releases too much adrenal androgen and estrogen, may also develop and have an indication foradrenalectomy. Adrenal surgery can be performed by laparoscopic or open technique. Today, laparoscopic adrenalectomy is the goldstandard treatment in selected patients. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy can be performed transperitoneally or retroperitoneoscopically. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. In the selection of the surgery type, the experience and habits ofthe surgeon are also important, along with the patient’s characteristics. The most common type of surgery performed in the worldis laparoscopic transabdominal lateral adrenalectomy, which most surgeons are more familiar with. The laparoscopic anterior transperitoneal approach is the least preferred laparoscopic method in adrenalectomy. Retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy canbe performed with a posterior or lateral approach. In addition to conventional laparoscopy, laparoscopic surgery is robot-assisted,which can be administered by transperitoneal or retroperitoneal approach. In addition, conventional or robot-assisted laparoscopicadrenalectomy can be performed transabdominally or retroperitoneally using the single-port method. Today, partial adrenalectomycan be performed using laparoscopic techniques in bilateral adrenal masses, hereditary diseases with the risk of developing multipleadrenal tumors, and solitary masses of the adrenal gland. Open surgery is indicated in the case of malignancy or suspected malignancy and large tumors when laparoscopic surgery is contraindicated. The risk of conversion to open surgery is low (approximately 5%).The open transperitoneal anterior approach is the most common open intervention, especially in large tumors with malignancy orsuspected malignancy. This procedure can be performed using a midline incision, bilateral or unilateral subcostal incision, Makuuchior modified Makuuchi incision. Thoracoabdominal incision may be required, especially in the removal of large malignant lesions as ablock. The open retroperitoneal approach can be applied posteriorly or laterally.