San Diego, CA - You expect a few scars when your appendix is removed.

But a new surgical technique follows natural pathways in the body, like the mouth and esophagus, to reach disease organs.

The surgery doesn't leave a mark.

California surgeons can reach the patient's appendix by flushing out the stomach and making a hole in the stomach wall.

Slender tools snake into the stomach and then out to the appendix.

Like a regular surgery, the diseased organ is tied off, netted and removed.

For information on this clinical study go to www.clinicaltrials.gov.  In the search box, type the trial identification number: NCT00531219.