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Objective: To review of our hospital's experiences in transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) and challenges we encountered in performance of the procedure, so as to provide help to medical institutions who are preparing to carry out vNOTES. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of all patients receiving vNOTES in our hospital from April 2018 to May 2021. Data we collected cover the general characteristics, perioperative outcomes, and complications of the patients. Results: A total of 1147 patients underwent vNOTES in the past 3 years at our hospital. The total numbers of adnexal surgery, myomectomy, hysterectomy, pelvic floor reconstruction surgery, and malignant tumor surgery performed via vNOTES were 902, 98, 82, 51, and 14, respectively. Eighteen patients were converted to transabdominal laparoscopic surgery. A total of 38 patients had complications according to Clavien‐Dindo classification, and the total complication rate was 3.31%. Among these cases of complications, 27 were Grade I, 4 were Grade II, and 7 were Grade III. No complications of Grade IV or V were reported. Conclusion: The application of vNOTES is safe and feasible for most gynecological surgeries. Moreover, hospitals with traditional laparoscopic equipment are advised to try this technique as there is no need to purchase additional expensive equipment. However, since vNOTES represents a novel approach, the long‐term complications and efficacy associated with this technique are pending to be verified through large‐scale prospective multicenter randomized controlled studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this research was to investigate the outcomes between unilateral biportal endoscopic discectomy (UBE) and percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) for the single L4/5‐level lumbar disk herniation (sLDH). Methods: From January 2018 to January 2021, a total of 40 patients with sLDH were retrospectively analyzed in this study. All the patients had received spinal surgeries in Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University and Affiliated Nantong Hospital 3 of Nantong University. Among them, 20 patients were treated with PELD (PELD group), and 20 patients were treated with UBE discectomy (UBE group). Postoperative length of hospital stay, estimated blood loss, operation time, and clinical complications of the patients were compared between the two groups. The visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were measured before surgeries and 3 days, 1, and 6 months after surgeries. Results: Compared with the UBE group, the PELD group had obviously less intraoperative blood loss, shorter operative time, and shorter hospital stay. The differences in the rate of complications were not statistically significant between the two groups. The VAS score and the ODI score of the two groups had a great reduction after operation. In addition, both the groups had satisfactory clinical outcome; the VAS score and ODI of the PELD group decreased more obviously. Conclusion: The UBE for sLDH yielded similar clinical outcomes to PELD as minimally invasive surgeries; however, PELD is superior to UBE in terms of intraoperative blood loss, operative time, postoperative hospitalization, and short‐term postoperative pain relief. The advantages and disadvantages of the two surgeries should be circumspectly balanced when evaluating a patient for a minimally invasive surgery for sLDH, selecting the most appropriate surgical method for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]