Recent technologic advances in endoscopic instrumentation and optics have allowed the development of a less invasive alternative to conventional laparoscopic surgery. During the past decade, natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) flourished in the field of general surgery, and it has emerged as a new concept of minimally invasive surgery. NOTES yields access to the abdominal cavity without any incisions on the abdominal wall (scarless surgery), and the natural orifices of the body surface, such as the mouth and the vagina, serve as the gateway to the peritoneal cavity. In gynecology, the vagina of a woman can be considered as an additional route for surgery. Recently, clinical application of transvaginal NOTES has broadened significantly in gynecology. Using transvaginal NOTES by applying the method of single-incision laparoscopic surgery via the vaginal route, not only adnexal surgery and hysterectomy, but also myomectomy and oncologic surgery could be performed safely and effectively in selected patients. In future, further studies should be conducted to evaluate the true clinical feasibility and safety of transvaginal NOTES.

Background: Minimally invasive surgery could improve cosmetic outcomes and reduce the risks of surgical injury with less postoperative pain and a quicker patient’s discharge. Recently, transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) has been introduced in urogynecology with exciting results. Evidence Acquisition: After PROSPERO registration (n°CRD42023406815), we performed a comprehensive literature search on Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL, including peer-reviewed studies evaluating transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery. No limits on time or type of study were applied. Evidence synthesis: Overall, 12 manuscripts were included in the analysis. Seven studies evaluated uterosacral ligament suspension, four studies evaluated sacral colpopexy, three evaluated sacrospinous ligament suspension, and one study evaluated lateral suspension. Overall success rates were high (>90%); however, definitions of success were heterogeneous. In terms of complication, most of the studies reported low-grade complications (Clavien–Dindo I and II); only two patients needed mesh removal because of mesh exposure. The risk of bias of the trials was rated in the medium to high-risk category. Conclusions: The present review highlights important initial results for vNOTES. Future randomized clinical trials are needed to better define its role in the management of urogynecological procedures.

To introduce a novel technique of transvaginal extraperitoneal single-port laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy (ESLS) for apical prolapse and to evaluate the feasibility and short-term outcomes of this technique.

To study the efficacy and safety of transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic Sacrospinous Ligament Fixation in the treatment of moderate and severe pelvic organ prolapse.

This study aimed to develop a novel antiprolapse surgical technique utilizing minimally invasive methods with lateral suspension in natural orifice surgeries.

To compare the safety and effectiveness of two different materials (mesh and suture line) used in laparoscopic extraperitoneal uterine suspension.

The objectives of this study were (1) to describe a group of women with pelvic organ prolapse associated with apical loss of support through grading with the Baden-Walker halfway system before, during, and after the corrective operation, (2) to describe the operative repair of the support defects, (3) to report the morbidity associated with the operative repair, and (4) to assess the durability of the repair at each site.Between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1998, a total of 302 consecutive women with apical and associated other support defects were evaluated before, during, and after the corrective operation by the senior author (Bob L. Shull). All patients underwent transvaginal reconstructive surgery with native tissue. Two hundred eighty-nine patients (96%) returned for at least one postoperative visit, and they constitute the group used for the follow-up data. Perioperative morbidity was considered to include hemorrhage necessitating homologous blood transfusion, visceral injury, neurologic impairment, or death. Durability was assessed by means of life-table analysis for each of 5 sites in the vagina.All patients had preoperative or intraoperative evidence of grade 1 or greater apical loss of support of and at least one other site of pelvic organ prolapse. Two hundred eighty-nine patients (96%) returned for at least one postoperative visit. Two hundred fifty-one patients (group 1, 87%) had optimal anatomic outcomes, with no persistent or recurrent support defects at any site. Thirty-eight patients (group 2, 13%) had one or more sites with at least grade 1 loss of support during the follow-up interval. Twenty-four of these 38 patients had grade 1 defects that were detectable only on careful pelvic examination. Fourteen of these patients (5%) had grade 2 or greater persistent or recurrent support defects. The anterior segment (bladder) was the site with the most persistent or recurrent support defects, which means that it was the site of the least durable repair. The urethra and cuff had the most durable repairs. Morbidity included a 1% transfusion rate, a 1% ureteral injury or ureteral kinking rate, and a 0.3% postoperative death rate.Careful preoperative and intraoperative evaluation of pelvic support defects and the use of native connective tissue and uterosacral ligaments are associated with excellent anatomic outcomes. The durability of the surgical correction varies according to the individual site of repair and the duration of postoperative follow-up.

To describe the short-term outcomes of transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) for uterosacral ligament suspension (USLS) in patients with severe prolapse.

This study aims to investigate the feasibility and short-term efficacy of single-port laparoscopic-assisted transvaginal natural cavity endoscopic sacrospinous ligament suspensions (SvNOTES).

To objectively assess the safety, feasibility, advantages, and disadvantages of transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) versus conventional vaginal (CV) surgery for sacrospinous ligament fixation (SSLF).We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients who underwent hysterectomy for SSLF via vNOTES or CV surgery due to apical compartment prolapse between April 2019 and April 2020 at our hospital. The patients were classified into the vNOTES group (n = 31) and CV surgery group (n = 51) based on surgical approach and their general characteristics and perioperative outcomes compared.The two groups had similar general characteristics. The anatomical success and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy rates were higher in the vNOTES than CV surgery group, while the postoperative stay was shorter in the vNOTES than CV surgery group. All differences were statistically significant. However, there were no statistically significant intergroup differences in operation time, bilateral salpingectomy rate, colporrhaphy rate, postoperative visual analog scale score, estimated blood loss, hemoglobin decrease at 72 h postoperative, maximum body temperature at 72 h postoperative, complication rate, buttock pain, or Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire-7 and Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory Questionnaire-20 scores at 1 year postoperative.VNOTES for SSLF was safe and feasible and resulted in superior objective and subjective outcomes versus CV surgery for SSLF. These findings suggest that vNOTES could be an alternative to CV surgery for SSLF.© 2023. The Author(s).

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a common morbidity and 10-20% of the patients need surgical correction. Sacrocolpopexy or sacrohysteropexy procedures are satisfactory but still difficult. Lateral suspension (LS) as a safe and simple technique has become an alternative technique recently. Vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (V-NOTES) is also a new modality and LS using V-NOTES has not been performed previously and should be promising.This prospective observational pilot study was conducted with a total of 38 women with stage 3 and 4 POP according to the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification grading system (POP-Q). Lateral suspension via V-NOTES was performed with the Salman-Ketenci Gencer technique using a mesh for POP. The preoperative and postoperative 6-month POP-Q stages together with Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ-12) scores were recorded and compared.Comparison of the preoperative and postoperative 6-month POP-Q stages of the patients were statistically significant except for the total vaginal length (p<0.01). Compared with the preoperative total and subscale scores of PISQ-12, the postoperative values were considerably improved (p<0.001).With the Salman-Ketenci Gencer technique not only good anatomical but also good functional results were obtained with V-NOTES. Surgeons may focus on uterine sparing while using the Salman-Ketenci Gencer technique for apical prolapse owing to the higher rate of complications related to the colposuspension and better sexual results after the cervicosuspension.© 2023. The International Urogynecological Association.