Obese Women’s Perception of Bariatric Trans-vaginal NOTES

Much of the discussion pertaining to natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) focuses on technical issues, with little attention to women’s perception and to their willingness to consent to this surgery, especially in the field of obesity. Aim of this study was to evaluate obese women’s perception of NOTES and trans-vaginal access. Sixty two obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery were given a written description of NOTES with an anonymous questionnaire exploring their concerns and opinions regarding this technique. The risk of complications was the most important aspect with regard to surgical procedures for 87.1% of patients, while the aesthetic result counted only for 16.1%; none of the patients would accept an increased risk of surgical complications for a better aesthetic result, and 74.2% of them would prefer a standardized traditional surgical approach. Nulliparous women were more concerned about the potentially negative effects of NOTES on fertility than multiparous women and younger women were more worried about the effects on sexual function than older women. 83.9% of patients refusing NOTES stated that the main reason for their refusal was the lack of definitive data on the beneficial effects. Bariatric NOTES potentially offers obese women a scarless intervention, but only a few obese women expressed worries about the cosmetic/aesthetic effects of surgery, while most of them were worried about effects on future fertility and sexual life. Our study highlights a strong need for early reporting of outcome data to enlighten patients about this new approach to bariatric surgery.