MADRID, March 12 (Xinhua) -- A medical team from the Spanish Hospital Clinico of Barcelona successfully removed a kidney through the umbilicus of a 85-year-old patient with renal cancer, local press said Thursday in the framework of the World Kidney Day.

    The patient had the surgery on Feb. 17, and three days later she was sent home with no symptoms, local media said.

    The medical team headed by doctor Antonio Alcaraz, chief of urology service, said this new technique has many advantages – it does not leave scars, while recovering time will also be halved.

    He said "the small cut made uses the natural folds of the umbilicus scars to hide it".

    There is no risk of hemorrhages in this procedure, since not so many vascular parts lie in this area, and the pain is minimized, Alcaraz added.

    The operation is an important advance in laparoscopy surgery --it discovers that the umbilicus orifice is a unique access to remove affected organs such as prostate, uterus, ovaries and cysts.