title: Preliminary experience of the robot-assisted laparoscopic excision of a retroperitoneal mass: A case report.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to report the initial clinical experience of adopting the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA) to perform a retroperitoneal tumor resection. The patient was a 56-year-old female who presented with a five-year history of hypertension. Abdominal dynamic computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography-CT scans revealed a mass measuring ~6 cm in diameter that was located anterior to the abdominal aorta, and between the abdominal aorta and the inferior vena cava (at the level of the third lumbar vertebra). The tumor was excised via a five-port, robot-assisted, transperitoneal laparoscopic approach. Careful dissection of the tumor away from the abdominal aorta and the inferior vena cava was accomplished without resulting in major vascular injury. There were no complications and the patient was discharged in a good condition on the eleventh postoperative day. Pathological analysis of a tumor specimen demonstrated a benign pheochromocytoma (PHEO). During the three-month follow-up, no recurrence was identified through CT scans or measurement of the patient's endocrine hormone levels. Thus, the da Vinci robot-assisted laparoscopic system may be safely employed in the treatment of extra-adrenal PHEOs that occur in difficult locations for which a laparoscopic surgical excision may be challenging.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xinjing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Baiyong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Liangchao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shulin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chenlei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaxing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chenghong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: extra-adrenal; laparoscopic; pheochromocytoma; retroperitoneal mass; robot-assisted