Review
Copyright ©2011 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 21, 2011; 17(39): 4382-4388
Published online Oct 21, 2011. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i39.4382
Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery: New minimally invasive surgery come of age
Chen Huang, Ren-Xiang Huang, Zheng-Jun Qiu
Chen Huang, Zheng-Jun Qiu, Department of General Surgery, Affiliated First People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200080, China
Ren-Xiang Huang, Digestive Endoscopy Center, Affiliated Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China
Author contributions: Huang C and Huang RX equally contributed to this paper; Qiu ZJ designed this review; Huang C and Huang RX drafted the manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Fund for scientific research of Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center, No. SHDC12006102
Correspondence to: Zheng-Jun Qiu, MD, PhD, Department of General Surgery, Affiliated First People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 100 Haining Road, Shanghai 200080, China. qiuwryb@online.sh.cn
Telephone: +86-21-63240090 Fax: +86-21-63240825
Received: March 23, 2011
Revised: June 21, 2011
Accepted: June 28, 2011
Published online: October 21, 2011
Abstract

Although in the past two decades, laparoscopic surgery, considered as a great revolution in the minimally invasive surgery field, has undergone major development worldwide, another dramatic surgical revolution has quietly appeared in recent years. Ever since Kalloo’s first report on transgastric peritoneoscopy in a porcine model in 2004, interest in a new surgical procedure named natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) has blossomed worldwide. Considering that a NOTES procedure could theoretically avoid any abdominal incision, operation-related pain and scarring, many surgeons and endoscopists have been enthusiastic in their study of this new technique. In recent years, several NOTES studies have been carried out on porcine models and even on humans, including transvaginal cholecystectomy, transgastric appendectomy, transvaginal appendectomy, and transvesical peritoneoscopy. So what is the current situation of NOTES and how many challenges do we still face? This review discusses the current research progress in NOTES.

Keywords: Laparoscopic surgery; Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery; Endoscopy