In a first in Tamil Nadu, Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre (MMHRC) has recently performed a unique laparoscopic procedure – known as ‘cortical-sparing adrenalectomy’, on a 33 year-old woman from Sivagangai and successfully treated ‘bilateral pheochromocytoma’, a rare case of tumours in both adrenal glands. As the surgery spared the cortex, a part of the gland responsible for making an essential hormone called cortisol, the young patient does not have to depend on medication lifelong.
The human body has two adrenal glands, located above the kidneys. These glands are responsible for producing hormones such as cortisol, aldosterone, and adrenaline, which play essential roles in regulating metabolism, blood pressure, and stress response. Pheochromocytoma is a rare tumour that develops in the adrenal glands. Bilateral pheochromocytoma is rarer. Only 10% of patients with pheochromocytoma present with bilateral tumours.
The treatment of choice for pheochromocytoma is surgical removal of tumours. Since this patient had bilateral pheochromocytoma, it could mean that both the adrenal glands have to be removed, and the patient would have no option other than to be on lifelong medication. However, using an intricate ‘cortical-sparing adrenalectomy’ surgical technique, surgeons at Meenakshi Mission Hospital laparoscopically removed the right side adrenal gland but spared the cortex of the left side adrenal gland so that the patient would not develop hormonal deficiency.
Date: 26.03.2024
