Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Complications in Transvaginal Approach in Laparoscopic Surgery

Transvaginal access is the most popular natural orifice translumenal technique in the minimally invasive surgery. Reviews on non-gynecological transvaginal approach morbidities reveal that rates vary greatly. A systematic review of transvaginal approach in non-gynecological intraabdominal procedures was carried out to assess the risk of complications. A systematic search was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library from the inception of these databases to March 2012. The following keywords were searched: “transvaginal”, “NOTES”, “single incision”, and “single port”. From the total of 231 potentially eligible abstracts, 87 papers were retrieved and evaluated as fulfilling the eligibility criteria. The final analysis included 32 articles. The overall complications rate was 4.4 %, and complications related to the transvaginal port reached 2.4 %. Conversion rate to open surgery was 3.4 %. The incidence of postoperative urinary tract infection was 0.8 %. The mean operative time was 119 min. The mean hospital stay was 3.1 days (range 6 h–12 days). The technique of transvaginal access can offer several advantages for a patient and is associated with an acceptable rate of complications.