Cut-free surgery a new frontier for medical device companies

More surgeries moving in this direction? It sure is better than having additional scars of the procedures can be done safely...there have been several performed already that are still experimental, but so far working...BD

Is the day coming when physicians might routinely remove an appendix through a patient's mouth? Or how about removing a gallbladder through another orifice — one that is, shall we say, below the belt?
In both cases, doctors say, the answer is maybe. But the prospect has the medical community — and the medical device industry — talking.
There's growing interest among physicians and device companies in the emerging surgical trend called "natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery" — or NOTES. "My understanding is that patents are being filed at an alarming rate," said Li, who participated in the event last month during the U's medical device conference. So, while NOTES still must be proven through clinical trials that assess its safety and effectiveness, Phalen of Boston Scientific said he doubted the "yuk" factor would be a major barrier to adoption.