Transvaginal endoscopic cholecystectomy using a simple magnetic traction system.

Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) is still at an early stage of clinical development. The development of new instruments is required to overcome some of the current limitations of NOTES. We thus performed transvaginal endoscopic cholecystectomies to determine the feasibility of using a magnetic traction system. Experiments were performed in a non-survival porcine model (n = 4). The magnet-fixed endoscopic clip was attached to the apex of the gallbladder fundus and held together with the external handheld magnet across the abdominal wall. The gallbladder fundus was then retracted to the cephalic direction by moving the external handheld magnet and the gallbladder was dissected from the liver bed. The gallbladder was placed in the endocatch material and delivered through the vagina. NOTES cholecystectomies via the transvaginal approach were successfully performed in a porcine model. The magnetic traction system was effective in achieving adequate exposure in all pigs. The magnetic traction system provides vigorous, multi-axial traction as required for the cholecystectomy procedure. There were no complications during the procedure other than minor bleeding from the liver bed. The mean procedure time was 133.8 minutes (range, 105 to 175 minutes). Our study successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the magnetic traction system in NOTES.