International multicenter trial on clinical natural orifice surgery--NOTES IMTN study: preliminary results of 362 patients.

Objectives: Natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) is evolving as a promising alternative for abdominal surgery. IMTN Registry was designed to prospectively document early results of natural orifice surgery among a large group of clinical cases.

Methods: Sixteen centers from 9 countries were approved to participate in the study, based on study protocol requirements and local institutional review board approval.