The Comparison of Laparoscopic Colorectal Resection with Natural Orifice Specimen Extraction versus Mini-Laparotomy Specimen Extraction for Colorectal Tumours: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Short-Term Outcomes

Aim. The aims of this study were to compare the short-term outcomes of natural orifice specimen extraction surgery (NOSES) and conventional laparoscopic surgery (CLAPS) for colorectal tumours and to evaluate the safety and feasibility of NOSES in colorectal resection. Methods. A literature review was performed on the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases up to March 2019. Papers conforming to the inclusion criteria were used for further analysis. The short-term outcomes included intraoperative outcomes and postoperative recovery results. The weighted mean difference (WMD) was calculated for continuous outcomes and odds ratio (OR) for dichotomous results. Study quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS) or the 6-item Jadad scale. Results. Eight studies comprising 686 patients met the inclusion criteria. Compared with CLAPS, NOSES had more advantages in terms of postoperative complications, postoperative pain, recovery of gastrointestinal function, duration of hospital stay, and cosmetic results. The lymph nodes harvested and intraoperative blood loss in NOSES were comparable with CLAPS; however, a prolonged operative time was observed in NOSES. Conclusions. NOSES was shown to be a safe and viable alternative to CLAPS in colorectal oncology in terms of short-term results. Further long-term and randomized trials are required.