The medicine is advancing quickly and now doctors can perform operations without letting any visible scars most of the times. At the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Europe, has been conducted the first in Europe and the second in the world, a kidney extraction through the vagina.

The kidney of the woman was affected by malignant tumour and it was extracted using the most advanced technology instruments of surgery. The operation is called transvaginal nephrectomy and also it needs two 1cm incisions in the abdomen, but the post-operatory period is less painful and it doesn’t leave visible scars on the abdomen.

The staff that performed the extraction consisted of Dr. Antonio Alcaraz, head of the Urology Unit; Dr. Mª José Ribal, specialist in Urology and Dr. Alejandro Molina, resident physician of Urology with the participation of Dra. Concepcion Monsalve, anesthesiologist, Mrs. Ana Palacio, instrumentist, and Dr. Francesc Carmona, Head of Gynaecology.

All the components of the team are part of the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona and so far they performed nephrectomy using a technique called laparoscopy which needs an incision in the abdomen and leaves behind a visible scar of about 6cm.

This technique allows the patient to leave the hospital after less than 48 hours and it was developed thanks to the intense training and experimental research of the Urology Unit. This procedure is possible due to the NOTES programme (Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopy Surgery) that opens the idea to perform operations through the orifices of the human body.

The Hospital Clinic de Barcelona had two other NOTES-based surgeries before - one consisted of the extraction of the bile vesicle through the mouth and the second, the treatment of the gastroesophageal reflux. Both of the interventions were successful and now, with the third, we are sure that this is the future of surgery.