ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Jim Hawkins is an avid exerciser, but a pain by his groin put a halt to his workouts. Hawkins had a hernia. "I don't know what caused mine," he says. "Maybe my genes -- my dad and brother both had hernias."

A hernia is a tear or hole in the wall of the abdomen. Five million people in the United States will suffer a hernia, but only a fraction of those will actually get help.

The only treatment option is surgery. Standard surgery is done with a four-inch incision. Many people live with the pain caused by a hernia to avoid the standard surgery done with a four-inch incision. And a laparoscopic procedure uses three small incisions. But now one doctor has developed a way to do the surgery through the navel.

"There must be a way that this can be done with a less invasive approach, and that's how I came to start doing it," James Westervelt, M.D., of Suncoast Medical Clinic in St. Petersburg, Florida, tells Ivanhoe.

Dr. Westervelt combines an old technology and a new technology. An operating scope is the old technology once used for procedures like tying a woman's tubes. The new technology is a port, which gives the surgeon a clear view.

"You can see each tissue layer as you go through it," Dr. Westervelt says. Once inside, a layer of mesh is used to patch the hole. And it's all done through the bellybutton ... Leaving no visible scar.

Dr. Westervelt has done about 50 of the new hernia procedures and has not had any major complications. He presented this new idea to a national group of surgeons in September and will have an article published on his research next year.

Hawkins says, "I wasn't sure how they could get all the equipment through one little hole, but modern science does it."

The biggest change came after the surgery, and Hawkins knows it firsthand. Fourteen years ago, he had traditional hernia surgery on his right side. His left side was recently repaired with the new technique.

"The overall recovery was much quicker," Hawkins says. "It was days compared to weeks."

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

If you would like more information, please contact:

James A. Westervelt, M.D.
Suncoast Medical Clinic
601 7th Street South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 824-8280
http://www.suncoastmedicalclinic.com