Gastrotomy creation and closure for NOTES using a gastropexy technique (with video).

Background: Safe and efficient gastrotomy creation and closure is pivotal for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES).

Objective: To test a method of transgastric access and closure with commercially available devices.

Design: An animal survival study.

Setting: University hospital.

Patients: Fifteen pigs.

Interventions: By using a surgical suture passer, under endoscopic guidance, 3 percutaneous stay sutures were placed, in a triangular fashion, through the gastric wall. A gastrotomy was created with a dilation balloon, which was introduced over a guidewire through the gastric wall in the center of the 3 sutures. After performing a NOTES procedure, the gastrotomy was closed by tying the sutures. Necropsies were performed after 2 to 4 weeks.

Main Outcome Measurements: Success and time of gastrotomy creation and closure, and intraoperative and postoperative complications.

Results: Gastrotomies were successfully created and closed in all the animals. The median time to create a gastrotomy was 19 minutes (range 11-85 minutes), and the median closure time was 1 minute (range 1-45 minutes). One pig died on postoperative day 1 because of peritonitis caused by a leaking gastrotomy site that extended beyond the stay sutures. There were no other gastrotomy-related complications. All gastrotomies were well healed at the necropsy.

Limitation: No control group.

Conclusions: We evaluated a simple method by using the principles of the PEG technique combined with a gastropexy, which is familiar to the majority of endoscopists. Strict attention to the gastrotomy site is needed, because one leak was from the gastrotomy site that extended beyond the stay sutures.