Minimally Invasive Therapy & Allied Technologies

Feasibility, safety, and efficacy of robotic single-port hysterectomy (R-SPH) using the da Vinci SP system in low-risk endometrial cancer: a pilot study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of robotic single-port hysterectomy (R-SPH) with the da Vinci SP in low-risk endometrial cancer. Patients with clinically confirmed endometrioid endometrial cancer, FIGO stages IA-IB, were enrolled for R-SPH. All surgical procedures were performed through a single 2.5 cm umbilical incision. An Intuitive Access Port of small size was placed into the incision, and pneumoperitoneum was established. Robotic instruments were inserted as described below through the Intuitive Access Port, which has four different channel ports: in the superior channel, a three-dimensional 8.5 mm optics; in channel 1, Cadiere Forceps; in channel 2, a Maryland Bipolar; and in channel 3, monopolar scissors. From June 24 to November 13, 2024, a total of 25 patients were included in the study. The median age was 61 years, and median BMI was 25.9 kg/m R-SPH seems safe and feasible in endometrial cancer. The true benefit of the technique should be sought in larger comparative studies. ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Record: NCT06681831.

Surgical treatment of large adnexal masses: a retrospective analysis of 330 consecutive cases

Reconstruction of three-dimensional vascular models for lymphadenectomy before surgery

Retroperitoneal sentinel lymph node biopsy using vNOTES in endometrial cancer patients with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 : a pilot multicenter case series by the Turkish gynecologic oncology group (TRSGO-SLN12)

This study evaluated the feasibility and surgical outcomes of transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) for retroperitoneal sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), specifically targeting obese and morbidly obese patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer (EC). Pathohistological evaluation confirmed the diagnosis of either Grade I or II endometrioid EC in all participants. In total, 31 patients participated in this study. The median age was 56 [43-75] years and the median BMI was 34 [30-54] kg/m2. Near-infrared fluorescence imaging utilizing ICG was implemented in 17 cases (54.8%), while methylene blue dye was used in 14 cases (45.2%). A median, 4 sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) were excised per patient, with numbers ranging from 1 to 7. The overall SLN detection rate was 90.3%, with unilateral detection in 9.7% of patients and bilateral detection in 80.6%. During the surgery, two complications occurred, and an additional two developed afterward. In 3.2% of cases, it was required to switch to a conventional laparoscopic procedure. Lymphatic metastases were identified in 3 patients (9.7%). The median hospital stay was 2 days. vNOTES can be a viable alternative to retroperitoneal SLNB, providing distinct benefits, especially for obese and morbidly obese patients with EC.

Robotic-assisted, laparoscopic, and vaginal hysterectomy in morbidly obese patients with endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer

Hysterectomy for endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer in morbidly obese patients is challenging. Here, we reported data regarding three minimally invasive approaches. This is a multicenter retrospective study evaluating 30-day and 90-day surgery-related outcomes of morbidly obese patients (those with BMI > 40kg/m Charts of 95 morbidly obese patients who underwent surgery for endometrial cancer were retrieved. Overall, robotic-assisted, laparoscopic, and vaginal surgeries were performed in 35 (36.8%), 38 (40%), and 22 (23.2%) patients, respectively. Patients having robotic-assisted surgery experienced longer operative time than patients having vaginal and laparoscopic approaches ( Robotic-assisted, laparoscopic, and vaginal surgery represent three safe and feasible minimally invasive approaches to manage morbidly obese patients with endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer.

Role of laparoscopic hysterectomy in cervical and endometrial cancer: a narrative review

Endometrial cancer is the most common carcinoma of the female genital organs and cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. The aim of this review is to evaluate the role of laparoscopic hysterectomy in patients with endometrial and cervical cancer in this period, and analyze the outcome of hysterectomy in terms of survival. Moreover, we present the historical background, new techniques, the anatomical features, and surgical steps of radical hysterectomy. According to new evidence, minimally invasive surgery in patients with cervical cancer is associated with higher rates of recurrence and mortality compared to the open approach. Despite the numerous explanations offered for this phenomenon, the reasons for these results are unclear. Additional large trials have been launched to reevaluate the above-mentioned data. On contrary, the laparoscopic approach provides surgical outcomes and similar survival rates as open surgery in patients with early endometrial carcinoma. Furthermore, the radicality of hysterectomy does not influence local recurrence rates or overall survival in cases with complete surgical removal of the tumor. A laparoscopic radical hysterectomy is no longer an option in patients with cervical cancer. When minimally invasive surgery is offered, the patients must be counseled in detail about the current debate.

Lymphadenectomy in endometrial cancer – achieving more with less?

The lymph node status of patients with endometrial cancer is known to be a crucial determinant for the prognosis of the disease. It also provides the indication for further adjuvant treatment. The staging of endometrial cancer by surgery has been a controversial issue for more than 30 years. The significant complication rate after lymphadenectomy and the development of minimally invasive surgery have led to the use of sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping. In the present review, we present the development of surgical staging procedures in patients with endometrial cancer and summarize the recently expanding body of published literature on the subject. SLN mapping is a safe and accurate technique, especially when indocyanine green is used as a tracer. SLN mapping appears to reduce complication rates as well as costs without affecting the oncologic outcome. Large prospective studies are needed to establish the effects of SLN mapping on the outcome of disease, especially in high-risk patients with endometrial cancer. Furthermore, the need for additional systematic lymphadenectomy prior to adjuvant radio-chemotherapy in patients diagnosed with isolated lymph node metastasis during SLN biopsy must be investigated further. This might pave the way for a new surgical approach in patients with endometrial cancer.

Novel diagnostic approaches to intrauterine neoplasm in fertile age: sonography and hysteroscopy

Endometrial carcinoma (EC) is the most common gynecological malignancy in the world. It is mostly detected in postmenopausal women, but it can also occur in women of fertile age who need fertility-sparing therapy. An early diagnosis is the main objective for the correct management of these patients, making it possible to use a fertility-sparing treatment approach without exposing the patients to the risk of cancer progression. In this review, we discuss the role of sonography and hysteroscopy in the detection of intrauterine neoplasm in women of childbearing age.

Mini-plus percutaneous setting in total laparoscopic hysterectomy

We aimed to analyze the preliminary experience of a mini-plus percutaneous instrument (MpPc) setting in total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH). Forty-three women who underwent a mini-plus percutaneous total laparoscopic hysterectomy at a tertiary-care university-based teaching hospital and academic affiliated private hospital between May 2017 and 2018 were included. MpPc-TLH was performed through one optical trans-umbilical 5-mm trocar, one 5-mm ancillary port on the right side, either one 2.4-mm percutaneous endoscopic instrument or 3-mm mini-laparoscopic port on the right upper quadrant and if required one 3-mm ancillary port on the left lower quadrant. A total of 43 patients were included, with a median age of 48 years (range, 38-71 years). Indication for surgery included uterine myomas ( The preliminary data suggest that MpPc approach is a feasible and safe surgical modality for total laparoscopic hysterectomy.

PET-CT scan in the preoperative workup of early stage intermediate- and high-risk endometrial cancer

Study of cervical precancerous lesions detection by spectroscopy and support vector machine

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) offers a fast, non-invasive, and low-cost alternative for cervical cancer diagnosis. We aim to develop a method for screening precancerous lesions based on DRS. Characteristic parameters of cervical tissue were extracted from spectra, including optical characteristic parameters such as absorption and scattering coefficients, and some slope and area parameters of the spectrum. Data were randomly divided into training (60%) and test (40%) sets. Of the 210 included patients, 166 were healthy, 22 had erosion of the cervix, and 31 had cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). The support vector machine (SVM) algorithm was used to classify normal and abnormal cervical tissue based on 11 characteristic parameters. The SVM with linear kernel function, applied on the training data, could distinguish tissue with lesions from healthy tissue with an accuracy of 1.00. When the classifiers were applied to the test set, erosion of cervix and CIN could be discriminated from healthy tissue with an accuracy of 0.95 ( This research shows that the diagnostic algorithm can be valuable for non-invasive diagnosis of cervical cancer. This is a significant step toward the development of a tool for tissue assessment of cervical cancer.

Fertility-sparing approach for endometrial cancer: the role of office hysteroscopy

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy in developed countries, with increasing incidence among younger, nulliparous patients. These epidemiological shifts are attributed to increasing rates of obesity, in combination with delayed childbearing. This highlights a need for fertility-sparing options for individuals who wish to delay standard surgical management with hysterectomy, bilateral salpingoophorectomy, and assessment of pelvic/para-aortic lymph nodes. Careful consideration should be taken to select which patients are suitable candidates for fertility-sparing methods. Typically, these are patients found to have FIGO grade 1 tumors of the endometrioid subtype without myometrial invasion. Currently, conservative treatment options include the use of oral progestins and levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine devices, with an emerging role for hysteroscopy for direct visualization of the uterine cavity, targeted tissue sampling, and tumor resection. This paper aims to highlight the role of office hysteroscopy for diagnosis, hysteroscopic tumor resection, and follow-up in suitable endometrial cancer patients who wish to preserve their uterus until childbearing is complete.

Hysteroscopy and weight loss in treatment of endometrial cancer: case report and literature review

Fertility-sparing treatments have become important for young women with atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH) or endometrial carcinoma (EC) who wish to preserve their reproductive potential. Evidence indicates a strong relationship between weight and EC and the effect of weight loss on reducing the risk of EC. We report the case of a young obese woman with a body mass index (BMI) of 46.6 kg/m

Unus Pro omnibus, omnes Pro uno : a commentary on the eternal dilemma of endometrial cancer screening in postmenopausal asymptomatic women. Is it time to team up?

The diagnostic workflow for endometrial carcinoma in postmenopausal asymptomatic women remains an ongoing dilemma. Whereas an ultrasonographic endometrial thickness greater than 4.0 or 5.0 mm is adequate for warranting further investigations in women with postmenopausal vaginal bleeding, there is still no unanimous consensus on what the ideal endometrial thickness cut-off should be, justifying additional inspection through endometrial sampling when bleeding is absent. A comprehensive overview of the most recent literature to summarize the clinical pathway necessary for the diagnostic assessment of a postmenopausal asymptomatic woman with increased ultrasonographic endometrial thickness. An endometrial thickness cut-off between 3.0 and 5.9 mm seems to show the lowest specificity while also reducing the chances of missing malignancy. If endometrial thickness can be a valid starting point, a careful evaluation of the other ultrasonographic endometrial features and a thorough scrutiny of patients' risk factors are pivotal to standardizing the diagnostic process while avoiding overtreatment. Although preventing unnecessary procedures is crucial, stratifying the risk and proceeding with further investigations (preferably through outpatient or office hysteroscopically-guided targeted biopsies) should be the goal. Closer collaboration between different fields of medicine (ultrasonography, hysteroscopy, and oncology) is strongly encouraged to facilitate early diagnosis of asymptomatic postmenopausal women at risk of developing endometrial malignancy.

Hysteroscopic treatments for endometrial malignancies and premalignancies: state of the art

Endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC) is the most common gynecologic malignancy worldwide. One in four cases will be diagnosed before menopause. Endometrial atypical hyperplasia (EAH) is a precursor of endometrial cancer and tends to occur at a young age. Those who have early stage, grade 1 EEC or EAH and wish to preserve their fertility can be managed with hormonal therapy. Hysteroscopic treatment in addition to progestin therapy has been used more commonly in the last decade. Herein, a review of available data on hysteroscopic treatment in EEC and EAH is presented.