THE TRANSVAGINAL SPECIMEN EXTRACTION DEVICE: A NOVEL APPROACH TO MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY IN WOMEN

Laparoscopic surgery uses small (5‐12-mm diameter) incisions in the abdominal wall, through which ports are placed and instruments dissect tissue and remove specimens that may be several centimeters in diameter. Usually, the extraction of these specimens requires either enlarging these incisions or cutting the tissue, called morcellation, to allow removal through these ports. The vagina provides a safe, convenient, and underutilized access to the abdominal cavity for women undergoing minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. Unlike traditional laparoscopic instruments based on the transabdominal approach, very few advances in vaginal access have been made. We report a novel device used to extract specimens, transvaginally, during laparoscopic surgery, using a pilot design of a novel medical device. The Transvaginal Specimen Extraction Device uses a novel sheath and introducer mechanism to access a woman's abdominal cavity and extract large (multiple-centimeter) specimens through the vagina. This device avoids the requirement of morcellating tissue or enlarging abdominal incisions, thereby permitting removal of intact specimens and faster recovery following surgery. The Transvaginal Specimen Extraction Device allows the removal of tissues or organs from a woman's abdominal cavity using a novel approach.