To date, only a handful of doctors across the world have even attempted it.

After months of eye pain, vision changes and the discovery of a tumor behind his right eye, Daniel Hersh was ready to give the new surgery a try.

"A scan identified a tumor behind the eye, which is scary. This was an approach to remove it with minimal adverse impacts, " said Hersh, a university hospital patient.

Dr. Vijay Ramakrishnan is a surgeon and assistant professor at the University of Colorado Sinus Center. He suggested the brand new way to access and remove Hersh's eye tumor.

"We sort of call it endoscopic or endo-nasal orbital surgery. What we're doing is using telescopes and going through your nose into the orbit," said Ramakrishnan.

This was the first successful surgery in Colorado to remove a this specific type of tumor directly behind the eye by accessing it through the patient's nose.

Traditionally, surgeons remove similar tumors by making an incision and removing it directly through the eye.

"His tumor was actually located in a very amenable place for us to access through the nose and it would have been more difficult to access through his face," said Ramakrishnan.

Joined by another university hospital surgeon who specializes in eye operations, Ramakrishnan was successful in using the natural openings of the nose and sinus areas to safely remove the benign tumor.

"This is actually a major step. We're always proud of the ability to do something new and something that's really pushing the edge," Ramakrishnan said. "Seeing how well he's done affirms our desire to think outside the box."

Without incisions to the face or eyeball, Hersh said he experienced little if any post-surgery discomfort and recovered quickly.

"I woke up the next day and felt and looked like normal. I had no problems with double vision, bruising, excessive bleeding or pain," Hersh said during a post-surgery appointment.

With a clean bill of health after the recent office visit, Hersh is not only optimistic about his future, but those of any other patients with similar tumors.

"It really had some fabulous benefits," said Hersh.

Read more about this surgery at the University of Colorado Sinus Center.