Natural Orifice Surgery (NOS/SLO)

Scarless operations through natural body openings—pioneered by NESA since 2006.

Pioneering Scarless Surgical Techniques

In 2006, NESA established the first European working group on Natural Orifice Surgery (NOS), pioneering scarless operations that use the body’s natural openings rather than external incisions. Through preclinical studies at the University of Rotterdam, NESA developed groundbreaking techniques including the trans-Douglas abdominal operation (accessing the abdomen through the posterior vaginal fornix) and trans-oral thyroidectomy (removing the thyroid through the mouth), offering significant advantages: no visible external scars, reduced postoperative pain, lower infection risk, faster recovery, and improved cosmetic outcomes. These techniques have since been adopted and refined in multiple countries, demonstrating that natural orifice approaches are practical alternatives for carefully selected patients and exemplifying the value of NESA’s interdisciplinary collaboration.