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BACKGROUND: As the incidence of adrenalectomy increases steadily, so does the use of minimally invasive approaches like posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy (PRA). To date, the largest studies of PRA have been from abroad, and we sought to provide a contemporary US update on the outcomes after PRA. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted on all PRAs performed at a single tertiary care institution between 2013 and 2020. Patient demographic characteristics, indication for operation, operative details, and postoperative course were abstracted. Outcomes of interest included 30-day mortality, conversion to open or transabdominal approach, postoperative complication, and 30-day readmission. RESULTS: A total of 249 PRAs were performed between 2013 and 2020. The population was 54.2% women and mean (SD) age was 54.1 (14.1) years. Most lesions (60.6%) were left-sided, and the most common diagnosis was nonfunctioning adenoma (39.4%), followed by pheochromocytoma (21.3%) and aldosteronoma (16.6%). Mean (SD) tumor size was 3.2 cm (range 0.5 to 9.4 cm). Median operative length was 110 minutes (range 30 to 319 minutes). Overall, the complication rate was 6.4%. Nine patients (3.6%) had a minor postoperative complication (Clavien-Dindo I to III) and 5 patients (2.0%) had a major postoperative complication (Clavien-Dindo IV to V), including 1 mortality (0.4%). There were 2 conversions of approach (0.8%). The majority of patients (58.2%) were discharged on postoperative day 1, and 92.0% were discharged by postoperative day 3. The 30-day readmission rate was 1.6%. CONCLUSIONS: Current practice demonstrates that PRA is an extremely safe approach, with a complication rate < 7% and mortality rate < 1%. In addition, the vast majority of patients are able to return home in an expedient manner.

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Introduction: Paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine tumors that arise from chromaffin cells. Often termed extra-adrenal pheochromocytomas, these tumors vary with regards to their functionality, location, and malignant potential. Mutations in the RET proto-oncogene are associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN-2) and paragangliomas. The phenotypes of the individual mutations are documented to help determine prognosis. Case Presentation: We report a case of a 64-year-old man with a history of parathyroid adenoma who developed a pancreatic retroperitoneal paraganglioma. Despite having laboratory evidence of excess circulating catecholamines, the patient’s only presenting symptom was hip pain. The patient underwent resection, and histologic findings were consistent with paraganglioma with lymph node metastasis. Genetic testing revealed a variant of uncertain significance within the RET gene [c.731C>T (p.T244I)]. Conclusions: Paragangliomas are rare extra-adrenal neuroendocrine tumors that can be associated with germline mutations. Our patient was diagnosed with a pancreatic paraganglioma associated with a RET T244I mutation. Identifying patients with germline mutations is important for documenting phenotypic presentations of RET gene variants of uncertain significance, which will allow physicians to provide proper management and surveillance of paragangliomas and other associated tumors.