Surgical adrenal diseases

There are four adrenal disorders in which surgery is the treatment of choice: pheochromocytoma, Cushing's syndrome due to ACTH-independent adrenal disease (adenoma, carcinoma or autonomous hyperplasia), primary aldosteronism due to an adrenal adenoma and some adrenal non-functional "incidentilomas". In all four categories, the optimal result of surgical intervention depends on the following factors: 1. Definitive diagnosis by accurate biochemical assessment of the functional status of the adrenal lesion. 2. Precise localization of the lesion using simple routine as well as advanced imaging techniques. 3. Adequate preoperative preparation and intraoperative monitoring. 4. Close immediate and long-term postoperative follow-up. In this review, the above factors are briefly summarized for each of the four disorders. A small proportion of adrenal lesions requiring surgery are bilateral and in such situations, special intra- and postoperative care should take into consideration the need for appropriate gluco-corticoid and mineralo-corticoid replacement. The advent of laparoscopic surgery has served to reduce the postoperative morbidity of adrenal surgery and is becoming increasingly the procedure of choice except for large lesions (> 8 cm in diameter).