The latest new minimally invasive surgeries may sound like science fiction or  tabloid headlines, but they are actually revolutionary advances in the way surgery is performed. For the first time in the United States, surgeons at the UC San Diego Center for the Future of Surgery performed bariatric surgery through the vagina.  The “natural orifice” technique may be an alternative for people seeking surgery to treat obesity.

About 200,000 people receive bariatric surgery for obesity each year.  A sleeve gastrectomy, a type of bariatric surgery, is used to reduce the size of the stomach.  This creates the feeling that a person is full.  Bariatric surgery can help people eat less, consume fewer calories, and lose weight. 

The natural orifice technique of minimally invasive surgery uses very small incisions and is associated with fewer complications, less pain, and shorter hospital stays.  For the natural orifice bariatric procedure, only two one-millimeter incisions are necessary.  A small camera is placed through an incision in the belly button to guide the surgery.  The second incision is made in the chest to insert an instrument to move the liver aside.  The procedure to remove part of the stomach is performed through the vagina with a small incision made behind the uterus to access the abdomen and stomach.  The researchers hope to expand the use of natural orifice surgery and technology in the future.