Adrenal/Endocrine

What Are the Adrenal Glands?

The adrenal glands are small, triangular-shaped endocrine glands (hormone-secreting glands) that sit above the upper pole of each kidney—one on the left and one on the right side of the body. Despite their small size, adrenal glands play a vital role in regulating several essential functions in the body through hormone production.

What Do the Adrenal Glands Do?

The adrenal glands produce hormones across three main functional areas:

1. Adrenaline and Noradrenaline – These hormones are involved in the “fight or flight” response, helping the body respond to stressful or emergency situations.

2. Corticosteroids – These hormones help regulate the body’s stress response and play a role in metabolism, immune function, and inflammation control.

3. Aldosterone – This hormone helps regulate blood pressure and maintain the balance of sodium and potassium, supporting proper renal (kidney) function.

Why Might You Need Adrenal Surgery?

Occasionally, the adrenal gland can develop a growth or tumour. These can be:

• Hormone-secreting tumours – These actively produce excess hormones and can lead to a variety of health problems depending on which hormone is involved.

• Non-functioning tumours – These do not produce hormones but may still grow in size and carry the risk of becoming cancerous over time.

Tumours or growths in the adrenal gland are often discovered incidentally during imaging studies (CT scans, MRIs) done for unrelated reasons. Following further clinical assessment, surgery may be recommended to remove the adrenal gland if:

• The tumour is confirmed to be hormone-producing

• There is a significant risk that the tumour may become malignant

• The tumour is large or continues to grow

Minimally Invasive (Keyhole) Adrenal Surgery

Modern adrenal surgery is typically performed using laparoscopic (keyhole) techniques, which are less invasive and promote quicker recovery.

Key features of the procedure:

• Performed under general anaesthesia

• Involves 4 or 5 small incisions

• Surgeons carefully dissect surrounding structures to access and remove the adrenal gland

• The blood supply is safely disconnected, and the gland is separated from adjacent tissues

The operation generally takes around two hours, and patients usually spend 2 to 3 nights in hospital to recover before going home.

Life After Adrenal Surgery

The body can function normally with only one adrenal gland. If one gland is removed, the remaining gland typically continues to produce all the necessary hormones, so there is no long-term hormonal deficiency in most cases.

Recovery time is typically about two weeks off work, depending on the nature of your job and your overall health. Your surgeon will provide personalised advice on postoperative care, pain management, and activity restrictions.

Involvement of an Endocrinologist

If the tumour is hormonally active, your care will involve close collaboration with an endocrinologist. They will assist in:

• Preoperative hormonal assessment

• Postoperative hormone monitoring and management

• Long-term follow-up care, if needed