PITTSBURGH -- Surgeons in western Pennsylvania are now using a minimally invasive surgery to remove a patient's gallbladder through one incision in the belly button.

Karen Waechter, who underwent the procedure on Nov. 5, feels good for the first time in more than a year

"Frequently in the evening I would have shooting pains in my back that I just could not get comfortable," said Waechter.

Waechter also experienced bouts of nausea.

It turned out the 47-year-old mother of three needed her gallbladder removed.

Waechter was referred to a surgeon who removed the organ with a minimally invasive technique that used one incision through her belly button.

"I actually put three instruments through the same hole," said Dr. Anthony Ripepi.

Surgeons said the advantage of using such a technique is strictly cosmetic.

All laparoscopic surgery uses tiny incisions that quickly heal and fade away.

The procedure creates one tiny scar in the belly button that remains virtually impossible to see.

"The people who are going to be asking for this surgery are younger women," said Ripepi.

While it uses the same instruments, surgeons said single-incision cholecystectomy is a bit tougher to perform and takes slightly longer to complete.

Patients who undergo laparoscopic procedures get to go home the same day.

"It's been exactly one week, and I'm back to my normal routine," said Waechter.

Surgeons perform nearly 4 million laparoscopic surgeries every year.

Ripepi said the single incision is the latest, less painful advancement.