Laparoscopic adrenalectomy

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy has already been described by various authors. The present series consists of 25 consecutive, nonselected cases operated on in the Department of Surgery, University of Pisa. All operations were carried out using a minimal access technique, and there were no conversions to open surgery. The mean operative time was 109 min. The median postoperative stay was 3 days (range 2-5). There were no complications, and none of the patients required blood transfusion. This technique proved to be as safe as open surgery and caused less distress and allowed more rapid return to normal activity. Increased experience and the development of new laparoscopic equipment are expected to further reduce operative time.