In the near future, most abdominal and chest surgery will be done by video-guided microsurgery performed through three or more tiny incisions, says Dr. Bruce Wolfe, a UC Davis Medical Center professor of surgery. The procedure, called endoscopic surgery, quickly is becoming the procedure of choice for gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy) -- the most common general surgical procedure in the United States, according to Wolfe. Nearly 500,000 cholecystectomies are performed each year in this country. The endoscopic technique reduces recovery time from six weeks to one or two. It also is much less painful. "But the real savings is to the disability system in recovered work days. In fact, Medi-Cal won't pay for any other type of elective cholecystectomy," says Wolfe. Treatment for gastro-esophageal reflux (heartburn), another common problem affecting some 7 percent of the population, is moving toward endoscopic surgery as well. Research is currently under way on the Davis campus to develop new ways to enhance endoscopic surgery. "There aren't very many limits to what can be done with endoscopic surgery," Wolfe says. The UC Davis surgery professor, who teaches regional surgeons how to do endoscopic procedures, says 12 post-graduate courses have been held during the past two years on the Davis campus just to keep up with the demand.