Recent advances in urologic laparoscopic surgeries: laparoendoscopic single-site surgery, natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, robotics and navigation.

Laparoscopic surgery was developed at the end of the 1980s and has been utilized in almost all urologic surgical procedures. It offers the benefits of less invasiveness and earlier recovery than open surgery. The introduction of laparoendoscopic single-site surgery has offered reduced pain and improved cosmetic satisfaction to patients. Scarless nephrectomy has been realized with transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery in women. The development of surgical robots has decreased the technical difficulty of complicated procedures, shortened the learning curve, and improved perioperative outcomes relative to laparoscopic surgery. Surgical navigation using real-time sonography, augmented reality, fluorescence, or radioisotope images will improve the quality of these surgeries.
(© 2013 Japan Society for Endoscopic Surgery, Asia Endosurgery Task Force and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.)