Adrenal incidentaloma surgery

Abstract

Background: the incidence of adrenal incidentalomas has increased with the use of modern imaging techniques and surgical indication is based on suspected malignancy or hyperfunction.
Objective: to review a casuistry of surgically treated adrenal incidentalomas.
Method: 16 patients operated between 2010 and 2016 in two health care institutions. The study describes diagnostic aspects, operative techniques and morbimortality of the procedures.
Results: most of the procedures were performed by laparoscopic approach, 3 intraoperative complications arose, there being no deaths in the series. The most frequently encountered lesion was non-functioning adenoma.
Discussion: imaging constitutes the diagnostic key which results essential to make a decision as to whether to follow or operate an adrenal incidentaloma. Follow-up protocols are still under discussion, as is indication of surgery in subclinical functional lesions.
Conclusions: laparoscopic adrenalectomy is a safe surgery, with morbidity and mortality rates which lie within the range described by relevant literature.