"I was up and about right away. I found it mind blowing that they were able to do that," said Bunch, who was discharged home two days after her procedure, which resulted in the removal of one foot of her colon. "I was given some painkillers in a big bottle. I think I took two. I didn't need them. I can earnestly say that the entire experience was a piece of cake."

Because the colon regains its normal function faster with the laparoscopic procedure, patients are able to more quickly return to eating a normal diet. There is also a smaller risk of injury to adjacent organs, such as the small intestine, ureter or bladder, and scarring from the procedure is minimal.

"The smaller scar is one of the benefits our patients like the best," Fisichella said. "The incisions are made below the bikini line so in the end the patient doesn't see much by way of scars from their surgery."

At Loyola, surgeons also use the laparoscopic technique for procedures to treat other diseases of the colon, including Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, colorectal caner and colonic polyps.

"My friends couldn't get over how easy the operation seemed to be," she said. "It was not a bad experience at all. I'm just very grateful to the surgeons, the nurses, all of them. They couldn't have been more superb."

Source: Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine