Laparoscopic adrenalectomy

Abstract

Laparoscopy has dramatically changed the surgical approach to the adrenal gland. An increasing body of literature attests to the efficacy of laparoscopic surgery for various benign adrenal disorders: aldosteroma, pheochromocytoma, Cushing's disease, and the incidental adrenal mass. Although laparoscopy is being cautiously applied for small, solitary adrenal metastasis, open surgery remains the treatment of choice for primary adrenal cancer. Based on the current worldwide results, as presented in this review, it seems reasonable to conclude that, for the majority of patients with benign surgical adrenal disease, laparoscopic surgery is now the gold standard treatment.