No visible scar (NVIS) colectomy: a new approach to minimal access surgery to the colon

Minimally invasive surgery continues to revolutionize surgical standards with trends toward further minimalization and improved cosmesis. Approaches such as laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) and natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) have thus emerged. The authors devised an alternative method for a more efficient approach to minimally invasive surgery called no visible scar (NVIS). This study describes NVIS and its ability to provide operative capacity and outcomes similar to other minimal access techniques, but with improved cosmesis and possibly decreased associated complications.

This is a retrospective analysis of patients undergoing colectomy between June 2009 and March 2010 to evaluate our outcomes with the NVIS technique (surgical approach via a 4-5 cm suprapubic site for inserting trocars/multiport and specimen extraction, with a 5-mm umbilical incision for a single trocar). Outcome measures included intraoperative complications, postoperative morbidity, and cosmetic outcome.

Ten patients with a mean age of 60.3 years underwent NVIS colectomy. The average operating time was 161.3 minutes with a mean blood loss of 56.5 mL. There were no conversions to open surgery. One patient required additional trocar placement. No perioperative complications were encountered. On follow-up, no wound complications were noted and all patients appeared satisfied with their cosmetic outcome. One patient was readmitted for a low-grade fever, but the NVIS technique was not identified as a contributor.

NVIS is a safe and feasible minimal access alternative, which improves cosmesis and may decrease complications associated with other minimally invasive techniques. Further analysis in a larger patient population is warranted to support our findings.