Hysterectomy 'through tummy button'

The technique, known as single incision laparoscopic surgery, is the latest development in keyhole surgery where the instruments are inserted through the bellybutton including a tiny camera and surgeons manoeuvre inside using TV monitor.

Surgeon Thomas Ind, who led the team which carried out the operation on Debbie Price, says the method is only an extension of what is already being done with keyhole methods, The Daily Telegraph reported.

“Instead of making three or four holes for instruments we just make one. Patients prefer it and it doesn’t make the procedure any more difficult for me to do. The patients like the idea of not having three or four little scars across their tummy,” he was quoted as saying.

In fact, 46-year-old Price decided to go for the operation after suffering for years with adenomyosis, which is a painful condition where the womb lining grows into muscle of the uterus. After having her three children, the pain had worsened and was affecting her every day life. “I just couldn’t stand it any more. I used to go to the gym regularly and I couldn’t do anything. There was constant pain in my pelvis.

“I had heard about minimally invasive techniques and when I heard I could have it done through the bellybutton I thought it was absolutely wonderful. I have been showing off my scar, only it’s in my bellybutton, no one can believe it.”