How is Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy Done?
Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is a surgical technique used to remove the adrenal gland without making a big incision. You will be given general anesthesia. After you are asleep, a nurse will insert a tube into your bladder to drain the urine while you are asleep. Surgery may be done with you lying on your abdomen or turned onto the side opposite the affected adrenal gland, depending on surgeon preference. Four or five small incisions will be made into the chest to give the surgeon access to the abdominal cavity. One is used for the laparoscope, which is attached to a camera that sends images to a video monitor. The other incisions are used to hold or manipulate tissue in the abdomen. Carbon dioxide gas is insufflated into the abdominal cavity to allow room to work and to allow the surgeons to see. Parts of the adrenal gland are freed from surrounding tissue. Blood vessels to the adrenal gland are visualized, tied off or clipped with a metal clip. Once the adrenal gland is dissected free o
