There was an almost dot-com-like euphoria about NOTES at 2007’s annual meetings of endoscopists and surgeons. NOTES (natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery) is the latest wave in minimally invasive surgery. The new procedures will be done through a natural orifice like the mouth or the anus, leaving no scar on the outside of the body and offering a reduction in pain and healing times compared with open and even laparoscopic surgeries.
Natural orifice surgery is being described as a revolution in minimally invasive surgery, incisionless surgery, or at the very least, a major advance over laparoscopy. It represents a billion-dollar category not yet dominated by the companies that gained preeminence in the $4 billion worldwide laparoscopy market—Johnson & Johnson and Covidien Ltd