USA Health offers new minimally invasive technique for gynecologic surgeries
vNOTES is an innovative technique that inserts a device through the vagina to perform common procedures such as hysterectomies. The technique is used to replace laparoscopic surgery, an operation performed using small incisions through the abdomen or pelvis.
By Brittany Otis
botis@health.southalabama.edu
Patients in need of gynecologic surgery can expect quicker recoveries, shorter hospital stays and less need for pain medications with the new minimally invasive vNOTES technique. Two USA Health physicians are performing the procedure at Children’s & Women’s Hospital.
Short for vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, vNOTES is an innovative technique that inserts a device through the vagina to perform common procedures such as hysterectomies. The technique is used to replace laparoscopic surgery, an operation performed using small incisions through the abdomen or pelvis.
“One of the many added benefits for the patient is there won’t be any visible cuts or scars,” said Charles Hanes II, M.D., urogynecologist with USA Health and an adjunct associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. “This technique also will enhance teaching our students about vaginal surgeries and how to make those surgeries easier for the patient.”
Hanes, along with Tracy Roth, M.D., an obstetrician-gynecologist with USA Health and an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the USA College of Medicine, have performed successful procedures using the vNOTES technique. They hope more patients will request the procedure as an option to treat their issues.
“We are confident the vNOTES procedure will boost patient outcomes,” Roth said. “Our patients will have a chance to get back to their busy lives at a faster rate, and that’s important to them and to us.”
Hysterectomies are the most frequently performed procedure in the United States and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend vaginal hysterectomies whenever possible.
Other conditions that can be treated by the vNOTES technique include fibroids, abnormal uterine bleeding, chronic pelvic pain and prolapse of the uterus.
To learn more about vNOTES, schedule an appointment with Hanes or Roth by calling the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at (251) 415-1496.
