Comparison of laparoscopy and vNOTES in early‐stage endometrial cancer

Abstract

AbstractAimTo compare the demographic, clinical, surgical, histopathological, and oncological outcomes of vNOTES and conventional laparoscopy (CL)for early‐stage endometrial cancer.MethodsA retrospective study was carried out in the Gynecologic Clinic of a tertiary hospital from January 2019 to November 2020. Patient demographic characteristics, surgical outcomes, histopathological characteristics, visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores at postoperative 6th, 12th, and 24th, intra‐ and postoperative complications, and follow‐up results were noted.ResultsA total of 45 patients enrolled, of which 16 underwent CL and 29 were vNOTES. The operative time and decrease in hemoglobin levels were similar for both groups (p = 0.202, p = 0.699). Postoperative hospital stay did not differ between the vNOTES group and the CL group (p = 0.549). VAS pain scores at postoperative 6th, 12th, and 24th h were significantly lower in vNOTES group than in the CL group (p < 0.001). The requirement for additional opioid/narcotic analgesic was lower in the vNOTES group than in the CL group (p = 0.037).ConclusionvNOTES may be a safe and feasible option in early‐stage endometrial cancer, having less postoperative pain and less requirement of opioid/narcotic analgesic compared with laparoscopy.