Meta-analysis of two approaches to Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy: lateral transperitoneal versus posterior retroperitoneal approach

Abstract Background:Even though many studies have reported comparisons of the lateral transperitoneal adrenalectomy (LTA)and posterior retroperitoneal adrenalectomy (PRA) approaches,the conclusions were inconsistent.This meta-analysis aims at a systematic assessment of LTA and PRA.Methods:We searched MEDLINE, Pubmed, and Embase database and finally obtained 19 studies published since January 2009.Systematic review was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses. RevMan 5.3(Cochrane Collaboration) was used for data analysis.Results:19 studies were included in the meta-analysis.The clinical characteristics of the 2 groups were similar(age, BMI, proportion of right sided, proportion of bilateral lesions,and previous abdominal surgery).There was slightly higher heterogeneity in proportion of male patients (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.97, P = 0.01) and size of the tumor (MD 0.62, 95% CI 0.16 to 1.08, P = 0.008).The results confirmed that the PRA group was superior to LTA group regarding shorter operative time (MD 17.54, 95% CI 9.67 to 25.40, P < 0.0001),lower estimated blood loss (MD 37.75, 95% CI 18.08 to 57.41, P = 0.0002), shorter hospital stay (MD 1.19, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.63, P < 0.00001) and shorter time to first oral intake(MD 0.48, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.86, P =0.01).There were no statistically significant differences between LTA and PRA regarding overall complication(OR 1.37, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.97, P = 0.08),conversion to open laparotomy (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.63 to 2.16, P = 0.63) or blood transfusion(OR 2.22, 95% CI 0.51 to 9.57, P = 0.28) .Conclusion:This meta-analysis suggests that PRA has more advantages over LTA,such as shorter operative time,lower estimated blood loss,shorter hospital stay and shorter time to first oral intake.And there were no statistically significance between LTA and PRA in terms of postoperative outcomes(total complications, conversion rates and blood transfusion).