Is 6 cm Diameter an Upper Limit for Adrenal Tumors to Perform Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy?

We aimed to compare the results of patients who underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) for masses ≥6 cm versus <6 cm in diameter in our tertiary referral university hospital. Three hundred thirty consecutive patients were divided into two groups according to tumor size (≥6 and <6 cm in diameter). Demographic variables, body mass index (BMI), lesion localization (right/left), tumor diameter, pathological diagnosis and surgical outcomes, including operation time, estimated blood loss (EBL), conversion to open surgery, complications, and length of hospital stay were compared between groups. Between February 2008 and March 2020, 53 patients (29 male-24 female) with ≥6 cm (L group) adrenal tumor and 277 patients (105 male-172 female) with <6 cm tumor (S group) underwent transperitoneal LA. One hundred sixty-eight (50.9%) tumors localized on the left side. In L group mean tumor size in female and male patients was 87.5 ± 40.8 mm (range 50-225 mm) and 67.3 ± 18.4 mm (range 10-100 mm), respectively ( < .05). Age, American Society of Anesthesiology scores, BMI, and mean operation time were similar between groups ( > .05). Postoperative complications were more often in L group ( = .005). EBL in group L and group S was 86 ± 70.4 mL (range 10-500 mL) and 55 ± 44.2 mL (range 10-300 mL), respectively ( = .003). Length of hospital stay in group L and group S was 3.7 ± 3.5 days (range 1-26) and 3 ± 1.6 days (range 1-9), respectively ( = .086). Significant variables in multivariate analysis, including gender (male), EBL, and postoperative complication rate, were entered into multivariate regression analysis, which presented that EBL and postoperative complication rates were independent significants for the L group. Six centimeters should not be considered as an upper limit of transperitoneal lateral LA and may be safely performed in centers with experience. Further studies are needed to confirm our data.