OKLAHOMA CITY — For many women, the prospect of gynecological surgery can be daunting, but a new less-invasive surgical technique now available at OU Health is transforming care for women across Oklahoma. vNOTES (vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery) is a revolutionary approach that allows surgeons to perform complex gynecological procedures without any external incisions. Urogynecologist Dr.
Adam Hare, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, is at the forefront of bringing this new technique to Oklahoma women.
“vNOTES is a novel way to approach minimally invasive surgery for gynecologic conditions,” Dr. Hare said. “It takes advantage of a natural opening in the body – the vagina – and we can do surgery that we would otherwise have to put incisions on the belly for.
” This technique represents a significant leap forward in minimally invasive gynecological surgery. While vaginal approaches aren’t new, vNOTES combines traditional methods with advanced laparoscopic instruments, offering the best of both worlds. “We have never approached vaginal surgery with laparoscopic instruments before,” Dr.
Hare said. “Now we’ve made the leap to combine the two approaches – vaginal surgery, but with the traditional laparoscopic instruments that we would otherwise put into the belly.” The range of conditions that can be addressed using vNOTES includes hysterectomie.