Among the main benefits of laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) compared to open adrenalectomy (OA) the rapid recovery of patients with decreased length of stay in hospital can be highlighted. The objective of this study was to compare the open adrenalectomy with laparoscopic adrenalectomy in swine. Thirty-two swine were operated. The animals had been divided into four groups (n = 8), one group was submitted to OA and the other to LA, together with its respective control group. Parameters were evaluated regarding operative time, body temperature, hematocrit, postoperative and intraoperative complications and time to deambulation. There was no meaningful difference between operative and deambulation times, even though the latter having been higher in the group submitted to OA. The most frequent intercurrences were in bowel, damage to adrenal vessels and renal hematoma. There were no significant blood losses, and observed hypothermia did not have any clinical impact. Laparoscopy in swine experimental adrenalectomy is a reliable technique that can serve as a reference for the surgical treatment of patients with adrenal diseases with surgical indications in other animal species.
adrenal glands; animal models; blood supply; laparoscopy
