By John McKenzie ABCNEWS.com

A new form of "hands off" surgery allows doctors to remove cancerous prostates with less pain for the patients. This translates into faster recovery time, allowing some patients to be back on the treadmill within weeks.

Earlier this month, 28 surgeons from as far away as Japan and Australia gathered in a conference room at the Cleveland Clinic. They watched an operation take place just one floor below.

For many doctors, it's their first look at a remarkable new way to remove a cancerous prostate. It is the latest form of "laparoscopic" or "key hole" surgery. The surgeon's hand never enters the patient's body. All the tools, including a miniature light and camera, scalpels and tweezers, are inserted through small cuts in the abdomen and manipulated from outside the body.

Dr. Inderbir Gill, a 42-year-old, Indian-born surgeon, is a pioneer of the laparoscopic approach: "The magnification is outstanding," he says. "The lighting could not be better. When we're doing open surgery the light is right up here. Laparoscopically, the light is sitting right next to where I'm working."

He can see the images that allow him to delicately maneuver around different organs, blood vessels and bundles of nerves to reach the prostate. While laparoscopic surgery is becoming routine in the removal of kidney cancer, prostate cancer is the new frontier.

"We no longer have to make a huge cut to deliver surgical cure," says Dr. Gill. "We can do it through little cuts."

　　Less Blood Loss Means Less Pain

Little cuts can mean significantly less blood loss, therefore there is much less need for transfusions, as well as less pain and quicker recovery after surgery. In addition, catheters are removed after two to three days, compared with two to three weeks with traditional prostate surgery.

Richard Teter, 61, was diagnosed last year with prostate cancer. He pursued the option of laparoscopic surgery because his wife had her gall bladder removed using the same kind of procedure. He did an online search to explore whether this was possible for his disease and found information on the Cleveland Clinic.

"I believe in it wholeheartedly," says patient Richard Teter, who had laparoscopic prostate surgery last month at the Clinic. "I am very satisfied. I feel as good as I did before I went into surgery."

He was released from the hospital the next day and was back on the treadmill 2 1/2 weeks later.

This laparoscopic technique is still so new that no one knows whether potential, long-lasting side effects, specifically incontinence and impotence rates, will be as good or better than with traditional surgery. But preliminary data looks encouraging.

If this technique is better for the patient, it is much more demanding for the surgeon. The hand-eye coordination that is required can take years of training.

Today, three hours after the operation began, Dr. Gill finally pulls the severed prostate through one of the small incisions. With it now sitting harmlessly on a tray, the operation draws to a close, as does another chapter in a promising new cancer treatment.

(From ABCNews.com)