Thailand's first endoscopic surgery performed in Siriraj Hospital

The surgeon behind the miracle, Assoc Prof Dr Perapong Inthasorn, told the press yesterday the patient had shown no adverse reactions and was menstruating normally. "The surgery took place a year ago," he said.

The patient, who is 30 now, said she was reluctant to have her uterus removed because she wanted to be given the chance to bear children.

"I consulted the doctor at the Siriraj Hospital and was told there was an option of endoscopic surgery. But he also said that such a procedure had never been performed in Thailand before. Yet I decided to go for it," she said.

According to Perapong, the surgery took about five hours and cost about Bt50,000. Patients under the universal healthcare or social security scheme are also entitled to this treatment.

"This is a choice for cancer patients at stage 1," he said. "They have a 90 to 95 per cent chance of recovery, just as she would have had if her uterus was removed."

He explained that endoscopic surgery was better than the conventional procedure as the surgical wound was much smaller. "So, there's less pain involved," he said.