If you're having adrenal surgery, it's important to know how to best prepare for your procedure and what to expect while you recover. This includes any tests you'll need before surgery, as well as what to avoid after surgery to help ensure its success.
How should I prepare for adrenal surgery?
Before your adrenal surgery, you'll undergo preoperative testing to make sure you are properly prepared for your procedure. These tests can include:
- Blood tests, including a complete blood count
- An electrocardiogram (EKG)
- Chest X-ray
If you have high blood pressure (hypertension), your doctor may prescribe medication before surgery to help control your blood pressure and heart rate.
We'll give you specific instructions on when to stop eating, drinking and taking medications prior to surgery. It's very important that you follow these guidelines for your own safety, and you'll need to have an empty stomach before any surgical procedure that requires anesthesia. If you don't follow the instructions, your adrenal surgery might be cancelled. Please contact us with any specific questions.
What is recovery like after adrenal surgery?
Most patients will be able to eat, drink and walk around normally the day after surgery. If you have an open adrenalectomy, you might have to wait longer to resume eating, drinking and moving around normally. To prevent blood clots from forming, you'll be encouraged to walk around as soon as it is safe to do so.
We will give you specific instructions and will prescribe pain relief and blood pressure medications based on your individual needs. Most people are ready to return home within a day or two of surgery, but the length of your hospital stay may vary depending on your procedure.
Before you are discharged from the hospital, we'll schedule a follow-up appointment, give instructions for your at-home recovery and go over any prescribed medications.
If your adrenal tumor was cancerous, we'll do follow-up testing to ensure all of the cancerous tissue was removed. If your adrenal tumor produced hormones, also called a functional tumor, you'll have regular follow-up appointments with endocrinologist to make sure your hormone levels are appropriate.
You'll need to refrain from heavy lifting, motions that put strain on your abdomen and vigorous activities for up to a month after your laparoscopic adrenalectomy to avoid a hernia, and recovery can take about six weeks after an open adrenal surgery. Soaking or scrubbing the site of your incision is also discouraged for at least one week to allow it time to properly heal. Showering is generally allowed after about two days.
What are the side effects of adrenal surgery?
After a laparoscopic adrenalectomy or retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy you'll have some pain at the site of your small incisions. It's likely that the pain will be mild enough to control with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin or ibuprofen.
Because open adrenalectomies require larger incisions to remove large tumors, patients who undergo those type of surgeries tend to experience more pain. We'll prescribe pain-relief medications to help make you more comfortable.
If you had one adrenal gland removed to treat a cortisol-producing tumor or Cushing's Disease, we'll prescribe steroid pills after surgery. The dosage will decrease over time as your remaining adrenal gland ramps up its natural production of steroids.
If you had a bilateral adrenalectomy, or your remaining adrenal gland is not working properly, you may need to take steroids to make up for the lack of steroids produced by your adrenal glands. We'll advise you on when, how much and how long you'll need to take steroids.
Will I need to follow a special diet after adrenal surgery?
No, you won't need to follow a special diet after an adrenalectomy. You may prefer softer foods at first, but you can incorporate your normal diet as you are comfortable.