Background: Reduced-port laparoscopic surgery (RPLS) uses the minimum possible number of ports or small-sized ports in laparoscopic surgery. The combination of RPLS and natural orifice specimen extraction (NOSE) minimizes the procedural damage.

Methods: A total of 17 patients diagnosed with right colon cancer were included: 5 patients in the RPLS + NOSE group and 12 patients in the conventional laparoscopic surgery (CL) + mini-laparotomy (ML) group. We highlight the key steps of the RPLS + NOSE procedure and compare the clinicopathological characteristics and short-term postoperative outcomes of the two groups.

Results: Compared to CL + ML, RPLS + NOSE was associated with short hospitalization (8.80 ± 1.30 vs 13.75 ± 2.63, p = 0.001), faster first flatus (1.80 ± 0.45 vs 3.4 ± 0.90, p = 0.020) and less postoperative pain on the first day (2.40 ± 0.55 vs 4.25 ± 1.60, p = 0.025). Regarding operation time, intraoperative bleeding, tumor size, proximal and distal margin, number of lymph nodes harvested, number of positive lymph nodes, R0 resection, bowel movements, postoperative complications, Clavien-Dindo classification, Benz's classification and postoperative pain on day 1, day 3 and day 5, no significant difference was observed.

Conclusion: In selected patients, RPLS with D3 lymph node dissection and transvaginal specimen extraction results in fast recovery and is indicated for colon cancer patients.

Keywords: Colon cancer; Colon surgery; D3 lymph node dissection; NOSES; Reduced-port laparoscopic surgery.

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