An article in the April 20 New York Times reports on the experimental practice of performing surgeries through natural orifices, such as the mouth, vagina, and rectum.

The article discusses a woman who had her gall bladder removed through her vagina, and a team of doctors in India who removed a man’s appendix through his mouth. They claim that even though these procedures are minimally invasive to begin with, the pain of cutting through the wall of the vagina, stomach, or colon would be much less than cutting through the abdomen.

Read the article here.