PONTIAC, MI. -- North Oakland Medical Centers (NOMC) successfully broadcasted a surgical procedure live, via the Internet, to Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hill, California.This live broadcast, the first of its kind, was transmitted from noon to 2 p.m., Thursday, August 29, 1996, when Vishnubai Patel, MD, at NOMC conducted a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy procedure. With the use of a personal computer and a modem, Alex Gandsas, MD, was able to transmit the surgical procedure through a live broadcast, via the Internet, for the price of a local phone call. And resident surgeons at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center were able to watch and interact during the surgery procedure. "Broadcasting such procedures via the Internet can be a valuable educational resource. Physicians and students anywhere in the world who have access to the Internet can receive such broadcasts and will have the ability to interact. They can ask questions, express opinions and give their advice while the surgical procedure is being conducted, because they are seeing and receiving the same information that surgeons would see and receive if they were standing in the operating room, " said Dr. Gandsas. "And all of this can be attained for the nominal price of a local phone call." NOMC has another Laparoscopic Colectomy procedure scheduled to be conducted by Amod Tootla, MD, which will be broadcasted live beginning at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 3, 1996 to a hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although Laparoscopic Colectomy is a common surgical procedure at NOMC, Dr. Rodolfo Altrudi, director of the Surgical Residency Program at Hospital Santojanni in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and his surgery residents will be seeing the procedure for the first time. "Through this live broadcast, will create the unique opportunity to educate fellow physicians across the world on a surgical procedure which will be new to them, but common to us," said Dr. Gandsas. Additional details about the live broadcast will be available on the network at the following address: Laparoscopy.com, (http:// www. laparoscopy.com) For more information about the live broadcasts, please call (810) 857-7522.
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This is the first time in the history of Internet that Images from a surgical procedure were broadcasted live. It was 10:00 am in Laguna Hills, California and 1:00 pm in Pontiac Michigan when both parties where viewing the sequences of this on-going surgical procedure being performed in O.R #2 at North Oakland Medical Centers. |