Open AccessRetroperitoneal adrenalectomy—learning curve, practical tips and tricks, what limits its wider uptake
Author(s) -
Pier Francesco Alesina
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
gland surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.643
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2227-8575
pISSN - 2227-684X
DOI - 10.21037/gs.2019.03.11
Subject(s) - medicine , adrenalectomy , laparoscopy , invasive surgery , learning curve , endocrine surgery , laparoscopic surgery , general surgery , surgery , medical physics , computer science , thyroid , operating system
The minimally invasive retroperitoneal approach to the adrenal surgery has been described in the early 90s following the first description of laparoscopic adrenalectomy. Although the advantages of the technique compared to laparoscopic surgery have been demonstrated in many studies, it remained for a long period confined to few centers. The operation has been standardized over the years into a safe and reproducible procedure that finally gained worldwide acceptance in the last 10 years. The present paper summarizes the surgical steps of the procedure focusing on the recent technical developments. Retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy should be part of the surgical armamentarium of any center dedicated to endocrine surgery.