View a recent day: June 10 | June 09 | June 08 | previous days | by month and year
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Appendectomy through the mouth
Physicians are now removing appendixes by entering the body through the mouth. The procedure, called Natural Orifice Translumenal Endosurgery (NOTES) involves the insertion of tools down the throat and through an incision in the stomach lining. Once the appendix is cut loose, it's pulled out of the mouth. Apparently, there are other variations of the technique, including gall bladder removal through an incision made in the vagina. One big benefit is that these surgeries don't leave any visible scar. Advocates say NOTES can be performed without putting the patient under because there are fewer nerves fibers within the body that transmit pain than on the skin. Recover time is also quicker. From New Scientist:
In many ways, transgastric surgery is a natural extension of keyhole surgery, in which slim surgical tools are inserted into the abdomen via small incisions in the skin, avoiding a large cut in the belly. It has now become routine for procedures such as gall bladder removal.Link (via Neatorama)
Transgastric surgery promises to go one better. Much of the discomfort and recovery time after conventional surgery – even keyhole surgery – is due to the incisions made in the abdominal wall. However, because transgastric surgeons reach the abdominal cavity through the mouth, there is no need for an incision, so patients should be back up on their feet much faster, says Jürgen Hochberger at St Bernward Hospital in Hildesheim, Germany.
posted by David Pescovitz at 01:10:33 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments
View a recent day: June 10, 2007 | June 09, 2007 | June 08, 2007 | June 07, 2007 | June 06, 2007 | June 05, 2007 | June 04, 2007 | previous days | all BB archives by month and year
