Patients undergoing surgery for early-stage stomach and intestinal cancer are recovering faster and going home sooner as a result of a new surgical approach in Calgary. The Peter Lougheed Centre is the first on the Prairies to adopt the minimally invasive method for removing cancerous tissue from the gastrointestinal tract. It uses a small video camera, called an endosope, which is inserted through the mouth or anus. It can then be used to visualize and then remove the cancerous tissue from the esophagus, stomach, small intestine or rectum. Patients can be discharged within 24 hours unlike regular surgeries which could keep them in hospital for several days.