If you needed surgery years ago, you would generally have expected a big scar and a painful recovery.

But a much less invasive surgical technique reduces the risks.

Laparoscopic surgery is already somewhat non invasive, as it allows doctors to use a camera to look inside a patient rather than having to fully cut them open. But now, there`s an even less invasive option for those who need a laparoscopy.

Kristie Hetzler shows her stomach off every now and then during the summer months, but when she was told she needed her gallbladder removed, like any responsible adult, she still went ahead with it. Even though she knew the standard surgery would leave four scars across her abdomen.

"There was really no option, I was told I needed the gallbladder surgery and this is how they do it and they went ahead with it," says Hetzler.

Little did Hetzler realize, MidDakota clinic had just started performing Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery. Instead of the usual four incisions, her surgeon, Dr. Schmidt, made just one, a one-and-half inch cut right in her belly button.

"We put the camera and also one instrument that I work with in that particular incision," says Dr. Michael Schmit, a general surgeon at MidDakota Clinic.

And instead of moving her gallbladder around through the four incisions with different instruments, he manipulated it with stitches through the one incision.

Dr. Schmit says the 20 or so patients he`s performed the single incision procedure on in the past month have loved the result.

"They come back and you can`t even see where we operated," says Dr. Schmit. "They have much less pain."

Hetzler said she too has had little pain, as only one wound had to heal. And heal it has, she`s scar free, only a month after having her gallbladder removed.

"It`s like right within the belly button," she says. "He did like a `S` shape right in the belly button. You can`t even tell, it was pretty amazing. `That`s awesome` I know, I was ecstatic, sounds really vain but I was really happy with it."

The single incision laparoscopic surgery isn`t limited to gallbladder surgery. MIdDakota has also used it to remove an appendix and in several lap band procedures as well.

Reference: KFYR-TV, ND