Evolution of Minimally Invasive Adrenal Surgery at a Tertiary Care Centre in Oman

This study aimed to review the case records and report the outcomes of open and laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) cases.

This retrospective study included patients who underwent adrenal surgery from January 2010 to December 2020 at Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. Demographic details, indications, surgical approaches, intra-operative data, complications, final pathology and outcome at the last follow-up were analysed.

A total of 52 patients underwent 61 adrenalectomies; six patients had a bilateral procedure while three patients had to undergo revision surgery resulting in a total of 55 individual procedures. Open adrenalectomy (OA) was performed on 11 patients and 44 patients underwent LA. Most patients (n = 27) were obese with a body mass index >30. Functional adenoma was excised in 36 patients with final diagnosis of Conn's syndrome in 15, pheochromocytoma in 13 and Cushing's syndrome in nine patients. Five patients had surgery for oncological indications. Non-functional adenoma was excised in 13 patients, with a mean size of 8.9 cm (range: 4-15 cm). The mean duration of surgery was less in laparoscopic procedure compared to open (199 versus 246 minutes). The mean estimated blood loss in LA was significantly less (108 versus 450 mL; P <0.05). Out of 55 procedures, only one patient developed Clavien-Dindo grade 2 complication.

Both LA and OA were safely performed at the researchers' institution. There is a growing trend for LA, and with experience, the duration of surgery and estimated mean blood loss are demonstrating a positive trend.