WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Women who need a hysterectomy or other gynecologic surgery now have a new surgical option to consider.
While vaginal hysterectomy is considered the gold standard by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, it is the least commonly performed type for hysterectomy in the United States.
This new procedure – called vNOTES (vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery) – is the latest advancement in minimally invasive surgery and does not require any abdominal skin incisions.
During the vNotes procedure, specialized instruments are inserted through the vagina, instead of through the abdomen, to allow the surgeon access to the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, and pelvis.
vNotes provides patients with several benefits – an outpatient surgery, less postoperative pain, less pain medication use, decreased risks of infection, and a faster recovery with quicker return to life and work.
Patients go home the day of surgery. They need very little narcotic pain medication, if any. There are no incisions on the abdomen, so patients have great cosmetic results. There is also a decreased risk of injury to other organs compared to other routes of hysterectomies and decreased time under anesthesia.
Other gynecologic surgeries that can be performed with vNotes include tubal ligation and removal of ovarian cysts.
My patients have had great outcomes from the vNotes procedure and appreciate the fact that they can return to their busy lives quickly. I am very happy to be the first physician to offer this new technology to women in the Midlands.
