Laparoscopic adrenalectomy for adrenal tumors: A 21-year single-institution experience

Summary Objective We have performed laparoscopic adrenalectomy including retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy via a single large port (RASLP) and conventional laparoscopic adrenalectomy (CLA) for adrenal tumors since 1992, and report our experience to date. Methods The study population consisted of 134 patients who underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy from 1992 to 2012. Fifty-eight patients (18 aldosterone-producing adenomas, 13 adenomas with Cushing's syndrome, 1 adenoma with preclinical Cushing's syndrome, and 26 nonfunctioning tumors) were treated using RASLP, and 76 patients (33 aldosterone-producing adenomas, 17 adenomas with Cushing's syndrome, 6 adenomas with preclinical Cushing's syndrome, 17 pheochromocytomas, and 3 nonfunctioning tumors) were treated using CLA. Complications were graded according to the modified Clavien system. Results The majority of RASLPs were performed during the 1990s, whereas all patients underwent CLA after 2000. The mean operation times (166 vs. 205 minutes, p