Groundbreaking robotic adrenal surgery

A groundbreaking single-incision adrenal surgery is proving to be much faster, resulting in shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery. Houston Methodist is the first in the country to offer it.

Adrenal problems, from cancer or hormone overproduction are often discovered while treating something else.

“They go into the ER, and they’re having abdominal pain, or they even fell and broke a bone, and just by CT scan, they find that they have an adrenal mass,” said Dr. Helmi Khadra, an Endocrine Oncology Surgeon at, Houston Methodist.

Houston Methodist is the first to perform a single port robotic retro periteneoscopic adrenalectomy. It requires only one incision and the DaVinci robot.

“The advantage of this robot is making only one incision and all of your instruments go in through that one little incision, and using the, you know, high-definition camera of the robot,” Khadra said.

This single entry point limits infection, shortens hospital stays to one day, and allows patients to experience less pain.

“They’re on their tummy, essentially, and you go in, through the back, to get to the space called the retro-peritoneum,” Khadra said.

In addition to cancer, hormone overproduction is a trigger.

“The adrenal gland usually produces hormones that work for adrenaline, blood pressure hormones, some of the sex hormones and the stress hormone,” Khadra said.

Without surgery, issues elevate blood pressure and aggravate diabetes. There are two glands, so one can be safely removed.

In some cases of adrenal cancer, which is aggressive, it is still done with an open procedure to ensure it’s all removed.