By FIONA MACRAE
17th April 2008
A sore throat is not exactly the most obvious side effect of having your appendix out but for Jeff Scholtz it was proof he had secured his place in medical history.
Mr Scholtz is one of the first patients in the world to have his appendix removed through his mouth.
Crucially, the surgery caused no scar and, barring the sore throat, had no side effects.
It left Mr Scholtz, a former U.S. marine, feeling so chipper he was back at work two days later and, 24 hours after that, was fit enough to do sit-ups.
The operation, which is a major advance in the quest for scar-free surgery, was performed by doctors in San Diego, California, who used a flexible tube to thread miniature surgical instruments down the 42-year-old's throat to his stomach.
A tiny incision was then made in the stomach wall to get at the appendix - a small worm-like pouch attached to the large bowel.
The inflamed appendix was cut away, bagged and pulled back into the stomach - and out of the mouth.
Mr Scholtz, a clothing manufacturer, said: "They told me to take it easy but I felt great.
"I was eating pizza and doing situps three days later.
"You'd think the way it was done, going through the stomach wall, I'd have had all kind of stomach pains, but there was nothing.
"My father had the conventional appendix removal. I didn't want the standard issue scar."
Patients given conventional appendectomies through the abdomen can spend up to a week in hospital and may have to avoid playing sport for up to six weeks.
Jeff Scholz undergoes 'cakehole' surgery to remove his appendix
Santiago Horgan, of the University of San Diego Medical Centre, said operating from within the stomach also cut the risk of hernias and infections.
Professor Horgan, who leads the hospital's Centre for the Future of Surgery, told Sky News: "Imagine a day when surgery requires no incisions or just one tiny incision that is only millimetres in length.
"Scarless, painless techniques are what the centre is setting the stage for right at this minute. Patients deserve it."
He added: "My dad was a surgeon and, in his time, the larger the incision, the better the surgeon. Today, we are moving away from that and trying to minimise the trauma."
Dr Hiten Patel, an expert in non-invasive surgery at University College Hospital, London, said scar-free surgery would have many benefits.
"There is a faster recovery time, there is less pain,' he said. 'In the space of ten years, we have moved from big scar surgery to keyhole surgery. This is the way forward."
The first similar scar-free operations in Britain are thought to be three to four years away.
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