NOTES spin-off for the therapeutic gastroenterologist: natural orifice surgery

Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) has ushered in a new era in flexible endoscopy. Over the past decade, modest advances have been made in addressing the fundamental challenges of NOTES surgery including transluminal access and closure techniques, and advancement of NOTES-specific technology. Despite these encouraging initial efforts significant obstacles to widespread acceptance of NOTES as a surgical option persist. Moreover, due to the well-documented safety and efficacy of laparoscopic techniques, the question remains as to the best candidate NOTES procedure. Presently, interest has shifted from true NOTES to hybrid procedures and single incision laparoscopic surgery, due to the lure of more immediate success. Additionally, there is also a growing awareness of the potential applications of natural orifice surgery techniques to the present field of therapeutic endoscopy. Research into transluminal access and closure has born several techniques and devices that are now being explored in endoscopic procedures such as full-thickness resection, endoscopic myotomy, direct endoscopic pancreatic necrosectomy and bariatric endoscopy. Such NOTES "spin-off" procedures are expanding the armamentarium of today's therapeutic endoscopists, and a growing body of literature suggests that they will play a significant role in the evolution of therapeutic endoscopy in the future.     

Critical analysis of hot topics in NOTES

Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) has gained a great deal of attention from gastroenterologists and surgeons all over the world since its introduction in 2000. The field of NOTES has advanced tremendously since that time and exciting and well-designed research has been reported. Both randomized controlled trials and results from large national and international registries have been published. Many experimental and clinical studies have discussed transesophageal, transgastric, transvaginal and transrectal access for a variety of NOTES procedures. Transvaginal access has been the most frequently reported NOTES access route in clinical trials. When suitable instruments become available, a true comparison of NOTES with current laparoscopic approaches can be realized.     

经自然腔道内镜手术

在过去的几年中,内镜领域出现了一种新型介入操作-经自然腔道内镜手术(natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery,NOTES),这一创新的内镜操作是经由自然腔道(口腔、肛门、阴道等)进入腹腔进行各种诊断和治疗.同时,也可经由自然腔道进入胸腔等其他体腔进行内镜手术. 与传统的剖腹手术不同,经自然腔道内镜手术避免了腹壁的切口,并且能够给患者带来特殊的好处. 尽管仍有许多难点需要突破,经自然腔道内镜手术这一无疤痕,安全的微创手术方式必将快速发展. 本文就该项新型手术方式的发展历史,实验研究,临床应用及前景等作一综述.     

经自然腔道内镜外科学(NOTES)研究进展

经自然腔道内镜外科学(natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery,NOTES)概念自提出以来,受到内镜医师和腹腔镜医师的广泛关注,成为微创技术领域研究和争论的焦点。国内外NOTES实验研究已经证实了NOTES的安全性、可行性及有效性,有关NOTES临床应用的研究也大量发表。同时,有关NOTES操作平台、器械研发和临床应用的报道也不断增多。本文就目前NOTES临床应用进展和相关的操作平台、器械的研发及应用情况进行概述。     

经自然腔道内镜手术研究进展

经自然腔道内镜手术（NOTES）利用人体自然开口和管腔，通过内镜进人体腔进行内镜手术。在动物模型上经胃、结肠、阴道、甚至膀胱，食管等腔道进入腹腔、纵隔，已经成功施行腹腔探查、肝脏活检、胃肠吻合、阑尾切除、胆囊切除、输卵管结扎、子宫部分切除、肾切除、脾脏切除、胰腺尾部切除、纵隔探查等手术：最近有成功应用于临床的报道。虽设备及技术逐渐完善，但还有许多问题有待解决，如：入路途径和切口闭合等问题。随着技术和观念的进步，经自然腔道内镜手术有望再次革新傲创外科手术。     

Surgery insight: natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery--an analysis of work to date

Traditional flexible endoscopy has been limited to the confines of the gastrointestinal lumen; however, recent developments involving transluminal access to intra-abdominal structures hold the potential to revolutionize flexible endoscopy. Over the past few years various studies have detailed techniques that intentionally breach the lumen and provide endoscopic access to the peritoneal cavity for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Unlike standard surgical approaches, which require incisions to be made in the abdominal wall, natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) avoids the need for abdominal incisions and can offer specific advantages to select patient populations. Animal models have been used to demonstrate the possible applications of NOTES, including transgastric peritoneoscopy, tubal ligation, gastrojejunostomy, partial hysterectomy, oophorectomy, and transcolonic exploration, liver biopsy and cholecystectomy. In this Review, we highlight important advances in NOTES since it was first described and analyze the hazards and potential benefits associated with this innovative approach.     

Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) for clinical management of intra‐abdominal diseases

Clinical research on natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) has been increasingly reported over the past 5 years and more than 1200 patients have received various NOTES procedures. The present article reviews the clinical practice of NOTES for the treatment of intra‐abdominal diseases, and was carried out through systematic search with specific keywords in major databases for NOTES‐related clinical literature. The last date of the search was 15 August, 2012. Transvaginal cholecystectomy is the commonest NOTES procedure reported, and its clinical feasibility and safety was established through prospective case series and randomized trials. There is a regional difference in NOTES development with the majority of NOTES fromCaucasian countries being transvaginal cholecystectomy and most reports from Asian countries being NOTES‐related procedures. Safe closure of gastrointestinal access remains challenging, and novel endoscopic instruments are essential to enhance future development of NOTES.     

Gastrointestinal tract access for urological natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery

We conducted a literature review of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery(NOTES),focusing on urologic procedures with gastrointestinal tract access,to update on the development of this novel surgical approach.As part of the methods,a comprehensive electronic literature search for NOTES was conducted using Pub Med and Cochrane Library from March 2002 to February 2016 for papers reporting urologic procedures performed utilizing gastrointestinal tract access.A total of 11 peer-reviewed studies examining utility of gastrointestinal access for NOTES urologic procedures were noted,with the first report in 2007.The procedures reported in the studies were total/radical nephrectomy,partial nephrectomy,adrenalectomy,and prostatectomy.The transgastric approach was identified in five studies examining total/radical nephrectomy(n = 2),partial nephrectomy(n = 1),partial cystectomy(n = 1),and adrenalectomy(n = 1).Six studies evaluated transrectal approach for NOTES,describing total/radical nephrectomy(n = 3),partial nephrectomy(n = 1),robotic nephrectomy with adrenalectomy(n = 1) and prostatectomy(n = 1).Feasibility was reported in all studies.Most studies were preclinical and acute,and limited by concerns regarding restricted instrumentation and infection risk.We concluded that gastrointestinal access for urologic NOTES demonstrates promise as described by outlined feasibility studies in preclinical models.Nonetheless,clinical application awaits further advancements in surgical technology and concerns regarding infectious potential.     

Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery: Where are we going?

The foundation for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery(NOTES) is to access the peritoneal and other body cavities through the wall of the alimentary tract via natural orifices,with the goal of performing procedures within the peritoneum and other cavities,without the need to make incisions in the abdominal wall.We have made great progress in the field of NOTES since the publication of the White Paper in 2006.There are still major fundamental goals as outlined by the Society of American Gastroint...     

Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES)]

Recently, the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy is developing rapidly. Once limited to the gastroinstestinal lumen, the endoscopic technology is now breaking the barriers and extending its boundary to peritoneal and pleural space. In 2004, Dr. Kalloo, a gastroenterologist, observed intraperitoneal organs of a pig using a conventional endoscope through the stomach wall. Since then, new endoscopic technique of intraperitoneal intervention with transluminal approach named the Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery or NOTES has been introduced. NOTES reaches the target organ by inserting the endoscope through a natural orifice (e.g. mouth, anus, vagina, urethra) and entering the peritoneal lumen by means of making an incision on the luminal wall. After a series of successful experiences in animal studies, NOTES are now being tried on human subjects. There are still many obstacles to overcome, but bright future for this new technology is expected because of its proposed advantages of less pain, lower complication rate, short recovery time, and scarless access. In this review, we plan to learn about NOTES.     

A self-approximating transluminal access technique for potential use in NOTES: an ex vivo porcine model (with video)

BACKGROUND: NOTES (natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery) is an area of active research in experimental endoscopy and has the potential to significantly advance the field of minimally invasive surgery. Several investigators have illustrated the need for a transluminal access technique that is safe, reliable, and reproducible. Currently used methods directly cut through the organ wall into the peritoneum; however, rare difficulty in closing the defect with negative outcomes have been described. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate an alternative method for transluminal access. DESIGN: An ex vivo, experimental endoscopy study. SETTING: Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Animal Research Laboratories. METHODS: By using ex vivo porcine esophagus, stomach, and colon, a submucosal tunnel was created as a means of physically separating the lumen from the peritoneum during transluminal access. Postprocedure leak testing was performed, and all procedures were video recorded. RESULTS: Results of the self-approximating transluminal access technique (STAT) in porcine esophagus and stomach demonstrated the technical feasibility of this approach. The STAT was not felt to be feasible in the porcine colon. LIMITATIONS: This investigation was a limited, ex vivo pilot study and will require further testing in an adequate number of live animals. CONCLUSIONS: The STAT is technically feasible in porcine esophagus and stomach, and may have advantages over currently used techniques.     

Evaluation for transvaginal and transgastric NOTES cholecystectomy in human and animal natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery

Background/purpose

Natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) is a novel concept using an endoscope via a translumenal access for abdominal surgery. This study was designed to evaluate the feasibility and technical aspects of NOTES cholecystectomy from our experience on humans and animals.

Methods

NOTES cholecystectomies were performed in 12 animal experiments, including 8 pigs (6 by transgastric and 2 by transvaginal accesses) and 4 dogs (4 transvaginal accesses), and a human female cadaver.

Results

The entire gallbladder could be removed under direct vision in all experiments. The average time was 60 min by transgastric and 40 min by transvaginal in animals. It was 87 min for human transvaginal cholecystectomy. In all animal and human procedures, there was no major complication concerning the operation.

Discussion

The transvaginal route may be the easiest route for abdominal NOTES. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) allowed the safe performance of a controlled gastric perforation and shortened the time. The hybrid method allowed performance of a safe procedure and shortened the time.

Conclusions

Transvaginal and transgastric NOTES cholecystectomy is technically feasible and safe in both humans and animals. New instrumentation needs to be developed to perform a pure NOTES cholecystectomy without transabdominal assistance.     

NOTES—case report of a unidirectional flexible appendectomy

Background Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) refers to a new surgical procedure using flexible endoscopes in the abdominal cavity. With this procedure, access is gained by way of organs which are reached through a natural, already-existing external orifice. The hoped-for advantages associated with this method include the reduction of post-operative wound pain, shorter convalescence, avoidance of wound infection and abdominal-wall hernias as well as the absence of scars. We performed a trans-vaginal appendectomy on a human subject. Materials and methods In experimental operations on animals, we first evaluated the trans-vaginal access site. After them, we started first operation in human. The procedure was carried out under preventive administration of antibiotics. We used a therapeutic single-canal gastroscope. The appendix was located after exploration of the abdomen. After preparation of the mesenteriolum, ligature of the appendix base was performed by means of endoloop, followed by transsection with scissors. Recovery of the specimen was achieved by pulling it out with the instrument. Results On the evening of the day on which surgery had taken place, administration of nourishment was begun. After the procedure, the patient reported slight soreness in the muscles of the abdominal wall; she felt otherwise perfectly well. Interpretation In the space of a year, the first operations have been performed on human subjects by a few select work groups. NOTES procedures are still in the initial stages of clinical development. Until they can be introduced into surgical daily routine, further improvements are required as to equipment, technology and operative procedure.     

Single-incision laparoscopic colorectal surgery for cancer: State of art

A number of clinical trials have demonstrated that the laparoscopic approach for colorectal cancer resection provides the same oncologic results as open surgery along with all clinical benefits of minimally invasive surgery. During the last years, a great effort has been made to research for minimizing parietal trauma, yet for cosmetic reasons and in order to further reduce surgery-related pain and morbidity. New techniques, such as natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) and single-incision laparoscopy (SIL) have been developed in order to reach the goal of “scarless” surgery. Although NOTES may seem not fully suitable or safe for advanced procedures, such as colectomies, SIL is currently regarded as the next major advance in the progress of minimally invasive surgical approaches to colorectal disease that is more feasible in generalized use. The small incision through the umbilicus allows surgeons to use familiar standard laparoscopic instruments and thus, perform even complex procedures which require extraction of large surgical specimens or intestinal anastomosis. The cosmetic result from SIL is also better because the only incision is made through the umbilicus which can hide the wound effectively after operation. However, SIL raises a number of specific new challenges compared with the laparoscopic conventional approach. A reduced capacity for triangulation, the repeated conflicts between the shafts of the instruments and the difficulties to achieve a correct exposure of the operative field are the most claimed issues. The use therefore of this new approach for complex colorectal procedures might understandingly be viewed as difficult to implement, especially for oncologic cases.     

Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) in urology

The concept of endoscopic surgery performed through natural orifices - Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) - represents one of the most exciting ideas recently introduced in surgery. The use of natural orifice as a transluminal access to the peritoneal cavity has been shown to be effective and reproducible. After the introduction of the transgastric access (2004), the adaptation of the well-known transvaginal access, looking for ideal and more suitable entrance has led to the development of the transcolonic and transvescical ports. To date, the NOTES technique showed its full potential in experimental models, so as to allow the completion of most of the standard procedures performed in laparoscopic technique and thus opening the door to a new era, considered as "3rd generation surgery". However, only few experiences have been translated to humans and this concept is still at an early stage of experimental development. Many efforts are still needed to establish the standardization and validation of the techniques, the verification of safety and effectiveness. ?This article intends to photograph the actual role of NOTES, reviewing its history, analyzing the potential benefits and drawbacks, browsing and comparing the different transluminal routes, describing the equipment and platforms currently available, and finally to point out the state of the art of NOTES in the urological field.     

Natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery applications in clinical practice

To review natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) applications in clinical practice and assess the evidence base for each application as reported in the literature.An electronic literature search was performed.Inclusion criteria were publications relating to NOTES applications in humans.For each type of operation the highest level of evidence available for clinical NOTES publications was evaluated.Morbidity and short-term operative outcomes were compared with gold standard published evidence where available.Finally,registered trials recruiting patients for NOTES applications were identified.Human NOTES publications with the highest level of evidence in each application are identified.There were no RCTs in the literature to date.The strongest evidence came in the form of large,multi-centre trials with 300-500 patients.The results are encouraging,comparable with gold standard techniques on morbidity and mortality.While short-term operative outcomes were also simi-lar when compared to the gold standard techniques,other than improved cosmesis little else can definitely be concluded as a clear benefit of a NOTES procedure.The most common procedures are cholecystectomy,appendicectomy and peritoneoscopy mainly performed via transvaginal access.It is evident that morbidity appears to be higher when the transgastric route is used.The safety profile of hybrid NOTES transvaginal procedures is beginning to be confirmed as is evident from the large number of procedures presented in this review.A number of authors have presented work on pure NOTES procedures but the results are inconsistent and thus the vast majority of NOTES procedures worldwide are performed in a hybrid fashion with a variable amount of laparoscopy.This review of the clinical applications of NOTES summarises the growing evidence behind this surgical discipline and highlights NOTES procedures with an acceptable safety profile.     

经自然腔道内镜腹腔探查术不同人路与技术差异的动物实验研究

目的探讨经自然腔道内镜腹腔探查术中经胃、经结肠、经脐3种人路可行性,并对单纯经自然孔道内镜腹腔探查术和复合经自然孔道内镜腹腔探查术的利弊进行评价。方法选取2只家猪动物模型,分别行单纯经自然孔道内镜腹腔探查术与复合经自然孔道内镜腹腔探查术。每只猪均依次采用经胃、经结肠、经脐3种入路进行腹腔探查,记录每种人路的检查完成情况,术后尸解观察腹腔脏器损伤情况及造口闭合程度,对比单纯经自然孔道内镜腹腔探查术与复合经自然孔道内镜腹腔探查术的术中反应情况以及操作的难易程度。结果2只家猪术中生命体征均稳定,术后尸解均未见造口周围脏器损伤。经胃探查与经结肠探查均存在一定盲区,且闭合胃壁造口难于闭合结肠造口。经脐探查与腹腔镜技术相似。在安全造口、稳定气腹、充分探查方面,复合经自然孔道内镜腹腔探查术优于单纯经自然孔道内镜腹腔探查术。结论经自然孔道内镜腹腔探查术中经胃、经结肠、经脐3种人路在技术上均具有可行性,在使用现有内镜器械的条件下复合自然孔道内镜腹腔探查术优于单纯自然孔道内镜腹腔探查术。     

Self-approximating transluminal access technique for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery: a porcine survival study (with video)

BACKGROUND: The ability to access the abdominal cavity though a direct (modified-PEG type) gastric incision to perform natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) has been demonstrated in the literature. However, the optimal technique to access the abdomen remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of a transgastric approach to the abdominal cavity through an extended submucosal tunnel. DESIGN: Animal feasibility study. INTERVENTIONS: Transgastric endoscopic peritoneoscopy was performed in 7 anesthetized swine, including 2 acute and 5 survival animals. After the creation of a 10-cm to 12-cm tunnel in the gastric submucosal plane, the peritoneal cavity was accessed by needle-knife puncture through the gastric wall near the greater curvature. The peritoneal cavity was examined before the gastric mucosal incision was closed with endoclips. Survival animals were euthanized two weeks after the procedure, and a necropsy was performed. RESULTS: The abdominal cavity was successfully entered without complication in all 7 animals. The mucosal incisions were able to be closed by endoscopy. In the survival experiments, all animals recovered and gained weight. Two animals experienced clinically unapparent infectious complications. LIMITATIONS: Small sample size. CONCLUSIONS: A peroral transgastric approach to the abdominal cavity through an extended submucosal tunnel is technically feasible and allows safe abdominal access and reliable closure with currently available technology. It has potential benefits as an alternative to direct transgastric access for NOTES procedures.     

Towards the Holy Grail: What can we do for truly scarless surgery?

The work of Muhe and Mouret in the late 1980s, paved the way for mainstream laparoscopic procedures and it rapidly became the mainstream method for many intra-abdominal procedures. Natural orifice transluminal surgery (NOTES) and Laparo-endoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) are very exciting new modalities in the field of minimally invasive surgery which work for further reducing the scars of standard laparoscopy and towards scarless surgery. However, according to objective assessment of the literatures, there is no clearly demonstrated benefit of NOTES (LESS), even cosmesis is poorly supported and had mixed results in the available data. NOTES (LESS) is far from the truly scarless surgery. Towards the Holy Grail, we have developed several techniques of creating nonvisible scar and named them as “Scar-hidden Endoscopic Surgery”. With the rapid development of science and technology, we believe that minimally invasive surgery over the next 2 decades will continue to bring remarkable change and realize truly scarless surgery even we may not be able to imagine what lies ahead.     

New trends in colorectal surgery: Single port and natural orifice techniques

Single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) and natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) have rapidly gained pace worldwide, potentially replacing conventional laparoscopic surgery (CLS) as the preferred colorectal surgery technique. Currently available data mainly consist of retrospective series analyzed in four meta-analyses. Despite conflicting results and lack of an objective comparison, SILS appears to offer cosmetic advantages over CLS. However, due to conflicting results and marked heterogeneity, present data fail to show significant differences in terms of operative time, postoperative morbidity profiles, port-site complications rates, oncological appropriateness, duration of hospitalization or cost when comparing SILS with conventional laparoscopy for colorectal procedures. The application of “pure” NOTES in humans remains limited to case reports because of unresolved issues concerning the ideal access site, distant organ reach, spatial orientation and viscera closure. Alternatively, minilaparoscopy-assisted natural orifice surgery techniques are being developed. The transanal “down-to-up” total mesorectum excision has been derived for transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) and represents the most encouraging NOTES-derived technique. Preliminary experiences demonstrate good oncological and functional short-term outcomes. Large-scale randomized controlled trials are now mandatory to confirm the long-term SILS results and validate transanal TEM for the application of NOTES in humans.