Need Your Appendix Out? Let Me Reach Down Your Throat (1/2)

Medical researchers keep looking for less invasive ways to perform operations. The aim is to cut less and to reduce pain and recovery time. Some researchers see a future in NOTES. NOTES is short for Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery.

In simple terms, what this means is the removal of diseased organs through the body's natural openings. For example, a man in California recently had his appendix removed through his mouth.Twenty-five years ago, having your appendix removed meant staying in the hospital for as long as a week. Patients returned home with an ugly and permanent scar on their abdomen.

But since the late nineteen eighties, laparoscopic surgery has gained popularity. It leaves only small marks where holes were made in the skin. The doctor works with a system called a laparoscope, usually connected to a video camera. Laparoscopic surgery rarely requires a hospital stay.

With the newest kind of surgery, doctors make a small cut in the patient's belly button. A camera is placed through the hole to help guide the surgical instrument.

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医学研究者一直在找寻侵入性更小的方式来进行手术，旨在使手术创口更小，疼痛和恢复的时间缩短。一些研究者从自然管壁的内镜手术上看到了未来。

简单来说，这意味着通过人体自然的腔道移除病变的器官组织。例如，加州的一位男士最近通过他的口腔移除了他的阑尾。25年前，移除阑尾手术意味着要在医院至少待上一星期。而病人也将带着腹部上那丑陋的永久性伤疤回家。

但是自从20世纪80年代末，腹腔内镜手术已经得到普及。它只会在皮肤上留下很小的伤疤。医生通过一个与录像机相连的腹腔镜系统工作。腹腔内镜手术后极少需要继续住院。

通过这种最新的外科手术方法，医生们在病人肚脐上开一个很小的口。而摄像机通过这个口来放置，从而帮助引导手术设备。