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Surgeons Now Sending 'Tweets' From Surgery

by Peter Mychalcewycz on February 18, 2009 at 03:48 PM

surgeon


Yes, Twitter may be coming to a surgery near you, and, no, we aren't kidding.

Surgeons have begun sending real-time "tweets" during surgery, effectively keeping fellow doctors, medical students and the general public up-to-date on the ebb and flow of complicated procedures. The latest case of surgery-turned- education/entertainment took place at Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan, where a tumor embedded in a patient's kidney needed to be removed. Lead surgeon Charles Rodgers began the delicate, robot-guided operation while his colleague twittered constant updates. The surgery, though complicated, was ultimately successful.

The doctors involved insist that twittering is simply a way to shed light on what, for many, is still a very scary process. We have some reservations about placing a possible distraction in the midst of life and death situations, but there is no doubt that the information and procedural experience can be useful for medical students and doctors alike. [From: CNN]

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Tags: doctor, health, medicine, microblogging, social networking, SocialNetworking, top, tweet, twitter

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