PATIENTS who have surgery to remove growths in their large intestine used to have 5cm- to 6cm- long scars on their abdomens as souvenirs of their experience.
But four patients who underwent colon surgery at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) recently had no scars.
The diseased parts of their colons were removed through their anuses
The only signs that they had had surgery were three puncture wounds on their abdomens - "key- holes" made by surgeons through which surgical tools were inserted.
But even these wounds have since healed, leaving no trace that any surgery was carried out.
This kind of colorectal operation, which surgeons describe as "incisionless", has been done in the West, but the procedure is believed to be the first in a restructured hospital here.
SGH surgeons are now using this technique to remove benign growths, polyps and early-stage colon cancers.
The absence of a big cut means less pain, a shorter hospital stay and a lower chance of infection at the wound for the patient, said Professor Eu Kong Weng, who heads SGH's department of colorectal surgery.
An "incisionless" procedure involves putting an endoscope through the patient's bowel through his anus. This instrument enables the surgeon to excise diseased tissue, clip the blood vessels to prevent excessive bleeding, extract the bit of tissue, and re-attach the ends of the colon.
A cut about 2cm- to 3cm- long is made in the rectum and the tissue is removed through the anus, Prof Eu explained.
The Singapore Cancer Registry ranks colorectal cancer as the top cancer among men and the second most common among women here.
Every year, about 1,400 people are stricken with the disease, and more than 600 die from it.
Prof Eu's team carried out the first "incisionless" colorectal surgery last year on a 51-year-old man with early colon cancer.
The procedure was published this year in Techniques in Coloproctology, a peer review journal.
The procedure has since been carried out on another man and two women here.
Deliveryman Chiang Poh Seng, 56, and housewife Chua Ming Ngo, 60, had polyps in their colons removed this way in the last couple of months.
Both were on their feet a day after the operation and were discharged after five days.
"It has been two weeks and I'm already back at work," Mr Chiang said.
The cost of the operation is comparable to that for keyhole surgery - between $4,000 and $5,000 for subsidised patients, and between $14,000 and $16,000 for full-paying ones.
Prof Eu cautioned that "incisionless" colorectal surgery is not for everyone.
"We are still new at this. We need at least 15 to 20 patients to be really good. Until then we are restricting it to benign growths, polyps and early stage colorectal cancer," he said.
He will present the technique at the 20th International Colorectal Scientific Congress held here today.