Impact of Obesity on Perioperative Outcomes of Retroperitoneal Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy.

Introduction: Obesity is usually considered a risk factor for postoperative complications; however, previous studies conclude contradictory results in retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA). We aim to evaluate the impact of obesity on the perioperative outcomes of LA.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study from a single center including 353 patients from 2011 to 2013 was conducted. Perioperative outcomes of patients from different groups were compared according to their body mass index (BMI).

Results: All the patients were divided into 3 groups: normal (n = 149), overweight (n = 141) and obese (n = 63). Operative time (OT) for patients belonging to the obese group was significantly longer than that in the normal and overweight group, and the results of estimated blood loss, postoperative length of stay in hospital and postoperative complications were all similar. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, OT was an independent risk factor for postoperative complications (odds ratio 1.020; 95% confidence interval 1.001-1.039; p = 0.037), while other factors including BMI had negligible effect.

Conclusions: Retroperitoneal LA offers similar perioperative outcomes for patients with different obesity statuses, which could be safe and feasible for obese patients.