Efficacy and safety of laparoscopic surgery for pheochromocytoma.
OBJECTIVE
Laparoscopic surgery for primary aldosteronoma and Cushing's syndrome is well established. We report on our experiences with laparoscopic adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma, and assess the efficacy and safety of the laparoscopic approach.


METHODS
Between April 1998 and April 2003, a total of 23 patients underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma at Chiba University Hospital and Yokohama Rosai Hospital, Japan. We compared the surgical outcomes of these patients with those of 106 patients with adrenal tumors due to other pathologies who underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy during the same period.


RESULTS
The mean tumor size of pheochromocytoma was 4.96 cm. Mean operative time was 192.7 min, and mean estimated blood loss was 130 mL. Neither mean operative time nor mean estimated blood loss was greater for patients with pheochromocytoma. Intraoperative hypertension (systolic blood pressure > 180 mmHg) occurred in 39.1% (9/23) of patients with pheochromocytoma. During the follow-up period, there were no mortalities or recurrences of endocrinopathy.


CONCLUSIONS
Laparoscopic adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma is a safe and minimally invasive procedure.
Naya
Yukio
Y
Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan. yu7ki@aol.com
Ichikawa
Tomohiko
T
Suzuki
Hiroyoshi
H
Komiya
Akira
A
Nagata
Maki
M
Ueda
Takeshi
T
Yamaguchi
Kunio
K
Ito
Haruo
H
D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D000315:Adrenalectomy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood; D010673:Pheochromocytoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D009638:Norepinephrine