In the next 10 years, the obese among us may be able to have bariatric surgery with a tube inserted through the mouth, instead of scalpels in the abdomen, doctors say.

Natural orifice transendoscopic surgery, or NOTE, requires no incisions because instruments -- like long tubes with robotic arms and staple guns -- can be inserted through the mouth and snaked down the esophagus, according to a report from Reuters.

Another possibility, said Dr. Philip Schauer, head of bariatric surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, is inserting a sleeve, or a tube, into the intestines that would interfere with calorie absorption.

Doctors says the new methods should lower cost because the procedure can be done without anaesthesia. Perhaps that will spur more employers to cover the costs of surgery, as I blogged about.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com