Hospitals often choose to broadcast minimally invasive procedures, Aitchison said, because these transmissions show off new technology while featuring procedures that reduce patient discomfort and recovery time. But not all surgical webcasts fit this format. One of UMMC's upcoming broadcasts, the spinal procedure, will be a traditional "open" surgery -- but one that is not available at many hospitals, Brond said.
Cutting Away
Manufacturers of surgical equipment have also gotten into the act, covering or contributing to broadcast costs for some hospitals.
Hospitals nationwide are now recording surgical procedures for broadcast on the Web for patients, physicians and the just plain curious.
(MDirectAccess)
|
|
"If we are contacted by a hospital that will be conducting one of these online programs, we are always excited to participate," e-mailed Sara Shelton Brock, a technical writer at Medtronic Sofamor Danek, which manufacturers spinal products. "Surgical webcasts give us the opportunity to share information about our extensive range of spinal systems with surgeons and patients."
UMMC paid for its webcasts on its own, Brond said.
Aware that some viewers might find the surgical close-ups overly strong stuff, UMMC officials said last week they planned to post a disclaimer on the Web page that links to the mitral valve procedure webcast, warning viewers of its graphic content.
Brond said hospital officials feel this is sufficient warning. "People have to select to see this. . . . [They] have to go to the Web site [and] see the disclaimer," Brond said. "They make an active choice to see it. . . . We don't market it to the general public."
Some hospitals edit out or restrict graphic scenes from their webcasts, Aitchison said. A Florida hospital cut away from scenes where bones and blood were shown in a knee replacement surgery webcast, he said.
Aitchison said his company also helps hospitals drive viewers to their surgical webcasts. One way it does this: by arranging, for example, for a Web user who searches Google for "mitral valve repair surgery" to be offered a link to the UMMC webcast.
Ganderson says he is fully recovered from his June 14 GERD surgery. He's glad he got to watch the procedure before having it himself.
"I think it's a very individualized thing . . . Not everyone wants to see something like that," Ganderson said. "But for me, watching how simple the operation actually is was great . . . In fact after having the surgery, it was as easy as he [the webcast surgeon] made it look . . . as far as recovery and as far as correcting the problem."
"The amazing thing is that the [minimally invasive] surgery was basically painless," he said. "That totally amazed me." •
