Surgery Without the Scars

Sept. 20, 2007 — -- Doctors are stretching the boundaries of laparoscopic surgical technique, which involves inserting a light and a camera into the body, to develop new surgeries that leave few -- if any -- visible scars.

Instead of entering the body through the abdomen, which can leave scars, a dozen surgeons across the country have taken laparoscopic surgery to a new level -- the improved flexibility of the instruments allow them to go through the bellybutton.

The new technique, called single port access, has been used to remove all bladders, ovaries, uteruses, kidneys, spleens and appendixes. Doctors have also used the technique to repair hernias and colons.

"We've always been looking for something better, and as this developed over the past six months," Dr. Paul Crucillo at the Drexel University College of Medicine told ABC "World News." "I really think this is going to be the next step in minimally invasive surgery, and it's really something great to offer patients."

Other surgeons are more cautious.

"This is very interesting technology," said Dr. Thommaso Falcone at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. "However, we have insufficient information to recommend to patients whether there are risks and benefits, which are different from traditional surgery."

To learn more about scarfree surgery, ABC News talked to Dr. Jeffery Hazey, a general surgeon specializing in minimally invasive surgery at the Ohio State University Medical Center.

ABC News: Why would someone choose to have scarfree surgery?

Hazey: From a patient's perspective, it is cosmetically beneficial. We are able to achieve the same results with little or no incision or pain, which is a major step forward in surgical care.

ABC News: For whom is this type of surgery recommended?

Hazey:: To date, incisionless surgery is used for three different applications. It is used for taking out the appendix, for taking out the gall bladder, and for diagnostic purposes -- to see if cancer in the abdomen has spread to other organs without having to cut the patient open. Surgeries are either transvaginal, which means removal through the vagina, or transgastric, which means removal through the mouth.

ABC News: Are these techniques any more dangerous than normal surgeries?

Hazey:: In skilled hands and for selected procedures, incisionless surgery is no more dangerous than laparoscopic or open surgery. However, we are still in the early stages of investigation.

ABC News: Are there any disadvantages to this type of surgery?

Hazey: One disadvantage right now is that the surgery is technically difficult. Without question, more research needs to be done before we can advance.

ABC News: How much pain do these operations cause? And how long does the healing process take compared to normal surgery methods?

Hazey: There would certainly be much less pain or potentially no pain at all -- that's the whole theory. This procedure also allows for a more rapid return to normal activities and to work.