Open Access

ARTICLE

Isolated adrenal metastectomy has a low morbidity rate irrespective of performing surgical sub-specialty

Kristen E. Gurtner¹, Danica N. May¹, Jay D. Raman², Kathleen Lata-Arias¹, Daniel J. Canter¹

1 Department of Urology, University of Queensland, Ochsner Clinic, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
2 Division of Urology, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
Address correspondence to Dr. Daniel J. Canter, Department of Urology, Ochsner Clinic, 1514 Jefferson Highway, New Orleans, LA 70121 USA

Canadian Journal of Urology 2019, 26(5), 9931-9937.

Abstract

Introduction: There has been growing use of adrenalectomy as a potentially curative treatment option for patients with oligometastatic disease to the adrenal gland. We sought to compare the perioperative outcomes of patients undergoing isolated adrenalectomy in the setting of disseminated cancer using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database. Furthermore, we examined the impact of performing surgical sub-specialty on outcomes.
Materials and methods: Data from the ACS-NSQIP database was obtained for patients between 2011 and 2016 who underwent adrenalectomy. Patients were stratified by the presence or absence of disseminated cancer. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to test for an association between the presence or absence of disseminated cancer and perioperative outcomes. The relationship between performing specialist and outcomes was also compared.
Results: A total of 4,207 patients were identified, with 270 (6.4%) in the disseminated cancer group. There was no significant difference in perioperative outcomes between patients with disseminated cancer and without disseminated cancer. On multivariate analysis, neither the presence of disseminated cancer (p = 0.47) nor the surgical sub-specialty performing adrenalectomy (p = 0.52) were associated with an increased risk postoperative morbidity or mortality. Of note, there was a statistically significant increase in the number of adrenalectomies performed by urologists in the setting of disseminated cancer (19.3% versus 10.4%, p < 0.01).
Conclusions: Patients undergoing adrenalectomy in the setting of disseminated cancer did not have significantly worse perioperative outcomes compared to patients undergoing adrenalectomy for other indications. The adverse perioperative event rate was similar whether the operation was performed by a urologist or a general surgeon.

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