Snip!t from collection of Alan Dix

<p><b>Within ten years some doctors and scientists are predicting that all surgery could be scarless.</b></p><p>They say by using the natural orifices of the body and the body's own natural scar the belly-button (or umbilicus), it will be possible to insert robots into the body which can help perform every surgical procedure. </p><p>It sounds fantastical, but prototypes are already in existence that can crawl and swim inside the body taking pictures of difficult to access areas. </p><p>There are particularly big hopes for Ares (Assembling Reconfigurable Endoluminal Surgical System), developed by Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Italy, with the support of the European Commission. </p><p>This is a robot that will self assemble inside the body, after the patient has swallowed up to 15 separate parts, and then aid the surgeon to carry out procedures. </p><p></p> <!-- S IBOX --> <table width="231" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" vspace="0" width="5" border="0" height="1" hspace="0"></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div> <div class="mva"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" alt="" width="24" border="0" height="13"> <b>It is almost inconceivable as surgeons that in 10 years time we will be putting our hands in patients</b> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" alt="" vspace="0" width="23" align="right" border="0" height="13"><br clear="all"> </div> </div> <div class="mva"> <div>Mr Justin Vale<br>Urological surgeon</div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> <p>By operating from inside the body, surgeons could avoid external incisions, minimising pain and shortening recovery time for the patient. </p>