Results of a national survey on the use of stents for the treatment of colonic obstruction.

Introduction: We distributed a survey in order to determine the current indications for the use of colonic stents to treat colonic obstruction in Spain and its compliance with international guidelines.

Methods: Descriptive study of a survey distributed by the Spanish Association of Surgeons (Asociación Española de Cirujanos), the Catalan Society of Surgery (Societat Catalana de Cirurgia) and the Spanish Society of Digestive Endoscopy (Sociedad Española de Endoscopia Digestiva).

Results: 340 valid responses were received: 25% from gastrointestinal specialists, and 75% from general surgeons.

[NOTES. History and current situation of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery in Spain].

Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES), involves a group of new endoscopic approaches to the abdominal cavity, with potential advantages over conventional laparoscopic surgery. It is based on the possibility of performing intra-peritoneal surgical techniques through natural orifices by entering the peritoneal cavity through natural orifices perforating the organ that allows direct access to that cavity (stomach, vagina, rectum, bladder). The possibility of using this same route to access the retroperitoneum and mediastinum has subsequently been postulated.