NOTES in Europe: summary of the working group reports of the 2012 EURO-NOTES meeting

The sixth EURO-NOTES workshop (4 - 6 October 2012, Prague, Czech Republic) focused on enabling intensive scientific dialogue and interaction between surgeons, gastroenterologists, and engineers/industry representatives and discussion of the state of the practice and development of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) in Europe. In accordance with previous meetings, five working groups were formed. In 2012, emphasis was put on specific indications for NOTES and interventional endoscopy. Each group was assigned an important indication related to ongoing research in NOTES and interventional endoscopy: cholecystectomy and appendectomy, therapy of colorectal diseases, therapy of adenocarcinoma and neoplasia in the upper gastrointestinal tract, treating obesity, and new therapeutic approaches for achalasia. This review summarizes consensus statements of the working groups.