Laparoscopic adrenalectomy. A new standard of care.

OBJECTIVE: The authors review their experience with laparoscopic adrenalectomy in patients with benign adrenal neoplasms. Efficacy, safety, and cost effectiveness of the procedure are examined. BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is replacing open adrenalectomy in some medical centers as the standard surgical approach for uncomplicated tumors. However, laparoscopic adrenalectomy often is considered more difficult and more expensive than traditional "open" surgery. METHODS: Perioperative and postoperative records as well as hospital charges from the first 19 patients undergoing laparoscopic unilateral adrenalectomies at the authors' medical institutions were examined and compared with 19 patients who underwent open unilateral adrenalectomies. RESULTS: None of the 19 patients undergoing unilateral laparoscopic adrenalectomy required conversion to open adrenalectomy. Mean operative times as well as total hospital charges were similar in those patients undergoing either laparoscopic or open adrenalectomy. However, the morbidity and postoperative length of hospital stay were significantly less in those patients undergoing laparoscopic adrenalectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy can be performed safety and with the benefits associated with minimally invasive surgery. In addition, the procedure is cost effective. These factors suggest that laparoscopic adrenalectomy should be the preferential surgical technique for benign adrenal disease.

Comparison of laparoscopic cholecystectomy with open cholecystectomy in a single center.

In this retrospective study, we compared the results of 1,283 open cholecystectomies (OCs) performed at our medical center during the pre-laparoscopic era with 1,107 laparoscopic cholecystectomies (LCs) performed from 1990 to 1992. There was no difference in the percentage of cases of acute and chronic cholecystitis in each time period (16.8% in each), nor were there differences in the patient characteristics for each group. The percentage of patients undergoing intraoperative cholangiography was similar for patients with chronic cholecystitis for each period, although the incidence of abnormal cholangiograms was lower in the laparoscopic era (5.8% versus 15.2%, p < 0.001). There was one bile duct injury in the OC group and three in the LC group (although one of these occurred after conversion ot an open procedure), but this difference was not statistically significant. However, there was a higher mortality rate in the patients with acute cholecystitis treated with OC (2.3% versus 0%, p = 0.03) and an increase in the overall complications in the patients with chronic cholecystitis in the OC group (7.5% versus 3.1%, p < 0.001) compared with the LC group. The increase in overall complications appeared to be primarily related to the increased rate of wound-related complications (3.6% versus 0%, p < 0.001) in the patients with chronic cholecystitis in the OC group. LC appears to be a safe procedure with a low incidence of complications including bile duct injury when performed by adequately trained surgeons.

Acute cholecystitis. Evaluation of factors influencing common duct exploration.

The clinical records of 216 patients with proven acute cholecystitis treated by cholecystectomy form the basis of this retrospective study. Common bile duct stones were present in 12.4 per cent of these patients. Thirty per cent of the patients with elevated SGOT values, 26.2 per cent of the patients with elevated alkaline phosphatase, and 23.1 per cent of the patients with elevated amylase had common duct stones. The authors found that 17.6 per cent of patients with bilirubin between 1.5 and 2.9 mg/dl had common duct stones, whereas 71.4 per cent of common bile ducts with a bilirubin greater than 5 mg/dl contained stones. Six of 28 patients with common duct stones had normal bilirubin. Cholangiograms were normal in 115 of the 154 cholangiograms performed; six of these common ducts were explored, and no common duct stones found (false-negative cholangiograms 0.0%). Cholangiograms showed stones in 24 patients; common bile duct stones were recovered from 20 of these patients (accuracy rate 83%, false-positive cholangiograms 17%). Wound infections occurred in seven patients (3.7%). Sepsis resulted in death of three patients, and the other two deaths resulted from multi-system failure. This study demonstrates operative cholangiograms to be the most accurate method of detection of common duct stones, and its routine use in patients undergoing cholecystectomy is recommended.

Cefoxitin versus erythromycin, neomycin, and cefazolin in colorectal operations. Importance of the duration of the surgical procedure.

Perioperative parenteral cefoxitin was compared with oral erythromycin, neomycin and parenteral cefazolin in a prospective, double-blind, randomized evaluation of 119 patients undergoing colorectal operations. Patients receiving cefoxitin had a higher wound infection rate than patients receiving erythromycin-neomycin-cefazolin (12.5% v 3.2%, respectively, p = .06). A direct correlation existed between the duration of the operation and the infection rate. Cefoxitin prophylaxis was as effective as erythromycin-neomycin-cefazolin in patients undergoing surgical procedures of 4 hours or less (infection rates of 4.8% and 4.0%, respectively). However, for surgical procedures lasting more than 4 hours, 5 of 14 patients (37.5%) receiving cefoxitin developed a wound infection v 0 of 13 patients receiving erythromycin-neomycin-cefazolin (p less than .05). It is speculative as to whether frequent two-gram doses of cefoxitin given during the operation would provide prophylaxis equivalent to erythromycin-neomycin-cefazolin.

Total thyroidectomy. A review of 213 patients.

During a 10.5-year period ending in June 1982, total thyroidectomy was performed on 213 patients at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. A nonfunctioning nodule on technetium scan was the primary indication for operation. Twenty-one of 213 patients had undergone previous partial thyroidectomy. The pathologic changes in the excised thyroids were carcinoma (81 patients), thyroiditis (27 patients), multiple benign adenoma (16 patients), thyrotoxicosis (27 patients), multinodular goiter (56 patients), and C-cell hyperplasia (three patients). Three total thyroidectomies were performed in search of a parathyroid adenoma. Fourteen patients had coexistent primary hyperparathyroidism. Excluding 12 patients with medullary carcinoma, 25% of all other patients with carcinoma would have had unrecognized tumor left in the remaining lobe had a total thyroidectomy not been performed. Calcium supplements were required in 59 patients during hospitalization, but only 2.8% of the patients developed permanent hypoparathyroidism. Since the adoption of Thompson's technique of total thyroidectomy, only one of the 128 patients (0.8%) has sustained permanent hypoparathyroidism. Two patients exhibited transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsies without permanent nerve damage. There were no operative deaths. The low morbidity of total thyroidectomy appears to justify its use in all patients with differentiated thyroid malignancy. With surgeons experienced in this technique, total thyroidectomy should also be considered as the primary treatment for many other patients requiring thyroidectomy.

Surgical experience with hyperparathyroidism.

This is a retrospective analytic review of 208 patients with hyperparathyroidism studied and treated at Vanderbilt University Hospital from 1935 to 1980. Follow-up in these patients has been completed to date or to death in a great majority of patients. Results indicate the value of excision of isolated adenomas and of subtotal parathyroidectomy for primary and secondary hyperplasia.