Fifteen years of adrenalectomies: impact of specialty training and operative volume.

Background: Previous associations between surgeon volume with adrenalectomy outcomes examined only a sample of procedures. We performed an analysis of all adrenalectomies performed in New York state to assess the effect of surgeon volume and specialty on clinical outcomes.

Methods: Adrenalectomies performed in adults were identified from the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System from 2000-2014. Surgeon specialty, volume, and patient demographics were assessed. High volume was defined using a significance threshold at ≥4 adrenalectomies per year. Outcome variables included in-hospital mortality, duration of stay, and in-hospital complications.

Results: A total of 6,054 adrenalectomies were included. Median patient age was 56 years; 41.9% were men and 68.3% were white. Urologists (n = 462) performed 46.8% of adrenalectomies, general surgeons (n = 599) performed 35.0%, and endocrine surgeons (n = 23) performed 18.1%. Significantly more endocrine surgeons were high-volume compared with urologists and general surgeons (65.2% vs 10.2% and 6.7%, respectively, P < .001). High-volume surgeons had significantly lower mortality compared with low-volume surgeons (0.56% vs 1.25%, P = .004) and a lower rate of complications (10.2% vs 16.4%, P = < .001). Endocrine surgeons were more likely to perform laparoscopic procedures (34.8% vs 22.4% general surgeons and 27.7% US, P < .001) and had the lowest median hospital duration of stay (2 days vs 4 days general surgeons and 3 days urologists, P < .001). After risk adjustment, low surgeon volume was an independent predictor of inpatient complications (odds ratio = 0.96, P = .002).

Conclusion: Patients with adrenal disease should be referred to surgeons based on adrenalectomy volume regardless of specialty, but most endocrine surgeons that perform adrenalectomy are high-volume for the procedure.