text_1: Gallbladder removed through mouth in new surgical technique
text_2: "This is what old news hands used to call a ""Hey, Martha!"" story, meaning that when someone reads it they will say, ""Hey, Martha! Can you believe this?"" As such, it makes sense for a news outlet to write about it, but at least some care should be taken to put this experimental procedure into the proper context. Even short items written as blog posts should be well reported, especially from a news organization as large and as influential as the Los Angeles Times. There is this assumption that minimally invasive surgeries are better simply because they require less cutting. In some cases this is true, but stories about minimally invasive techniques need to provide the evidence that they improve patient outcomes and that they are better than alternatives to surgery.This same type of thing happens among consumer electronics reporters. Smaller is always better. Except, who wants to listen to John Adams’ Century Rolls on ear buds that provide the sonic range of a toaster oven? And who wants to watch Avatar on a screen the size of a credit card? Fewer holes in the body doesn’t necessarily equate to better health outcomes."