Laparoscopic management of primary hyperaldosteronism: clinical experience with 212 cases

Laparoscopy is now widely used to remove benign adrenal tumors. We assessed the value of transperitoneal partial or total adrenalectomy for primary hyperaldosteronism.

From September 1994 to October 2001, 212 consecutive patients with a mean age of 48 years who presented with primary hyperaldosteronism and related arterial hypertension underwent transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy (193) or tumor enucleation (20) performed by a single surgeon, including 1 who underwent bilateral adrenalectomy. In all cases preoperatively high plasma and urine aldosterone was associated with low plasma renin and hypokalemia.

Mean followup was 44 months. Conversion to open surgery was necessary in 30 patients (14%) due to bleeding or adhesion and a procedure duration of greater than 3 hours. Mean operative time was 102 minutes (range 30 to 260). Six patients (2.8%) required blood transfusion. No deaths occurred. Postoperatively complications were observed in 10% of patients and the most frequent one was electrical myocardial ischemia without infarction. Mean postoperative pain medication was 17 mg. morphine sulfate equivalents (range 0 to 60). Mean and median hospital stay was 3.6 and 2.9 days, respectively (range 2 to 20). Postoperatively blood pressure was normal in 58% of patients without any drug, while treatment was decreased in the remainder. Kalemia was normalized in all cases.

Although some complications can occur, mostly at the beginning of the learning curve, laparoscopic transperitoneal adrenalectomy is effective treatment for primary hyperaldosteronism.