[Adrenal tumors in pediatric patients treated with minimally invasive surgery].

Adrenal tumors in children are frequently neoplastic and malignant, and surgical resection is the first management option. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has proven to be a safe management alternative and is suggested as a preferred alternative approach.

Objective: To report the surgical outcomes of patients with adrenal tumors treated by MIS.

Patients and method: Retrospective descriptive study of a cohort of pediatric patients with adrenal gland tumors undergoing MIS in the period 2012 - 2023.

Results: 15 MIS of the adrenal gland were performed in 14 patients, 60% were male, mean age 1.8 years (range: 5 days - 7 years). Histological diagnoses included neuroblastoma (n = 7), pheochromocytoma (n = 3), ganglioneuroma (n = 2), extrapulmonary sequestration (n = 1), mature teratoma (n = 1), and adrenal cortical neoplasm of uncertain malignant potential (n = 1). 14 adrenalectomies and one biopsy were performed, all via laparoscopic surgery, with no need for conversion to open surgery. No perioperative complications greater than Clavien-Dindo grade II were recorded; only 2 patients required red blood cell transfusions and there was no perioperative mortality. The mean tumor diameter was 3.7 cm. The median hospital stay was 1 day. The mean follow-up period was 29 months.

Conclusions: The laparoscopic technique has proven to be a safe approach in pediatric patients with adrenal tumors, offering advantages in terms of hospital stay and perioperative complications.