Natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) for innovation in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery: preface.
BACKGROUND
Natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) has captured the interest of interventional endoscopists and may represent the next stage of evolution of minimally invasive surgery. It provides the potential for performance of incisionless operations. It is gaining momentum both in the animal laboratory and in human case reports. Developments in the field of NOTES have led to the formation of the Natural Orifice Surgery Consortium for Assessment and Research (NOSCAR) in 2006.


METHODS
In this special issue, the current trends in NOTES in the field of hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery are featured, including NOTES cholecystectomy, hepatectomy splenectomy, pancreatic necrosectomy, and the future of NOTES. In this issue, we discuss the potential benefits of these procedures in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
We have just started the evaluation process for this new technology. The concept of NOTES is becoming established and is enormously advantageous for the patient. Both the surgeon and gastroenterologist should contribute to developing NOTES in making use of their specialties.
Department of Surgery, Teikyo University Chiba Medical Center, 3426-3 Anesaki, Ichihara, Chiba, 299-0111, Japan. sugimototeikyo@gmail.com
Maki
M
Sugimoto
D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity