Synchronous bilateral adrenalectomy for adrenocorticotropic-dependent Cushing's syndrome

Select patients with ACTH-dependent Cushing's syndrome, such as patients with persistent Cushing's disease after failed hypophysectomy or patients with ectopic ACTH production, may require bilateral adrenalectomy. Laparoscopic bilateral adrenalectomy has been described, offering definitive treatment with reduced morbidity compared with open techniques. We report on the performance of synchronous bilateral adrenalectomy treated using the da Vinci robot (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA). To our knowledge, the usage of this minimally invasive approach for this operation has yet to be reported in literature. The details of the case and a brief review of the literature are described herein.