Laparoscopic partial adrenalectomy

Laparoscopic partial adrenalectomy was performed on seven patients with primary aldosteronism from 1996 to 1997 at Osaka University Hospital. These seven patients had unilateral functional adrenal tumor diagnosed by venous sampling, adsterol scintigraphy and computed tomography. Three right and four left adrenal tumors were removed successfully in a mean operation time of 192 minutes (range 110 to 270), with mean blood loss of 90g (range 10 to 220). The patients were three women and four men with a mean age of 44 years old (range 25 to 64). No conversion to an open operation was needed. Nor were there any intra or post operative complications. Laparoscopic operation is suitable for adrenalectomy rather than conventional open surgery for several reasons. We propose that this novel modality of laparoscopic partial adrenalectomy can offer additional benefits in comparison with total adrenalectomy.