A Discussion with Leading Expert on Adrenal Gland Surgery, Dr. Tobias Carling

Dr. Tobias Carling performs more adrenal gland surgeries than any other surgeon in America. In this podcast, he offers

• an overview of the basic functions of the adrenal system,
• the types of tumors and cancers in the adrenal glands as well as adrenal tumor diagnosis, and
• the difficulties and goals for adrenal gland surgery as well as ways for patients to educate themselves.

Dr. Tobias Carling left his position as Chief of Endocrine Surgery at Yale in 2020 to open the Carling Adrenal Center in Florida. Early in his medical schooling he found the endocrine system worthy of advanced study. Eventually the challenges and diverse array of tumors the adrenal gland presents kept his interest and he made it his specialty.

After being at Yale for almost 18 years, he started the Carling Adrenal Center in Tampa to continue giving patients exceptional care. In this podcast he begins by explaining the biology of the glands, such as the three hormones they produce: aldosterone, cortisol and catecholamines. He explains how common it is for tumors to form in the glands and what risks they pose. Primarily, different tumors produce different degrees of hormone levels in the body in excess, which can be toxic. This, he adds, is why adrenal tumor diagnosis is important and sometimes tricky. Some cases, like Conn's Syndrome, can be a silent disease hidden by the presentation of symptoms attributed to high blood pressure.

Finally, he explains various issues related to adrenal gland surgery such as when cortical-sparing surgery is advisable and when it's not. Such decisions take into account issues such as the risk of spilling tumors into the body as well as the state of the other gland. He comments that the surgery must be done as quickly as possible yet as precisely as possible because of the vital nature of the surrounding area.

To learn more, see the Carling Adrenal Center Website at https://www.adrenal.com/, which includes a lot of information to help readers better understand everything from lab numbers to different issues to consider. They've made a concerted effort to help patients educate themselves.