Factors associated with higher risk of complications after adrenal surgery

Surgeon experience has been demonstrated to result in better outcomes after a variety of advanced operations. Less information is available regarding adrenal surgery. We compared the outcomes after adrenalectomy for a variety of indications and determined the effect of surgeon's case volume.

Cross-sectional analysis was performed using ICD-9 procedure codes included in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2003 to 2009 to identify all adult patients who underwent unilateral or bilateral adrenalectomy for benign or malignant conditions. Logistic regression was used to test for interaction between surgeon case volume (low = 1, intermediate = 2-5, and high = >5 adrenalectomies per year), diagnosis, type of operation performed, and risk of complications.

A total of 7,829 adrenalectomies were included. Risk of complications after bilateral adrenalectomy was 23.4 % compared to 15.0 % for unilateral adrenalectomy (odds ratio 2.165, 95 % confidence interval 1.335, 3.512). Malignancy was associated with higher risk of complication (23.1 %) than benign disease (13.2 %) (odds ratio 1.685, 95 % confidence interval 1.371, 2.072). Complication rates for low- and intermediate-volume surgeons were 18.8 and 14.6 %, respectively, and both were significantly higher than complications by high-volume surgeons (11.6 %, p < 0.05). Length of stay and charges were both significantly less for high-volume surgeons compared to lower-volume groups (p < 0.05).

Low surgeon case volumes and adrenal surgery for malignant or bilateral disease are associated with increased risk of postoperative complications. Length of stay and charges were significantly less when high-volume surgeons perform adrenal surgery.