Note: Excerpt of article written by Elizabeth Shaw which ran in the Flint Journal on July 7, 2008

Keith Purzycki's golf game improved by 9 strokes.

That's the only proof the Tyrone Township carpenter can show for an emergency appendectomy he underwent in May 2008.

Purzycki, at age 52, was the first patient in Michigan to undergo a new surgical technique that allows for a nearly scarless operation.

"The no-stitches thing is unbelievable. I've seen big scars on other people. I've got nothing there at all," said Purzycki. "But I sure can tell the difference in how I feel. When they pulled that thing out of me, the pain was gone in my back and side for the first time in almost a year.

"I had no idea how much it was affecting me until then. I started my golf league the week before the surgery and shot a 51. I was back on the course a week after and shot a 42 and have been improving ever since."