Results after laparoscopic left anterior transperitoneal submesocolic adrenalectomy for the treatment of pheochromocytoma

AIM: Minimally invasive adrenalectomy is the treatment of choice for benign adrenal lesions including pheocromocytoma (PHE) and in selected patients with malignant lesions. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the authors' results after laparoscopic left anterior transperitoneal submesocolic adrenalectomy (LLATSA) for unilateral PHE. MATERIAL OF STUDY: This study is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. From 1994 to 2018, 552 patients underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA). Of these, 34 patients (14 men, 20 women, mean age 52.8 years) underwent LLATSA for PHE. RESULTS: Mean operative time was 93.1 ± 44.9 minutes. Conversion to open surgery occurred in two patients due to difficult identification of the anatomy. Intraoperative blood pressure and heart rate instability were observed in four cases, but with no need for conversion. Postoperative morbidity was nil. One American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) III patient died on postoperative day 4 from acute myocardial infarction. Mean postoperative hospital stay was 3.8 ± 1.8 days (range 2 - 8). DISCUSSION: The main advantage of this approach is the early ligation of the main adrenal vein prior to any gland manipulation. This reduces the risk of catecholamines' spread and consequently the risk of hemodynamic instability. Intraperitoneal dissection is limited and there is no need to mobilize the colon or pancreas, with a lower risk of complications from organ manipulation. CONCLUSIONS: LLATSA is feasible and safe for the treatment of PHE. A randomized trial design and a larger cohort of patients would be required to confirm these conclusions.