In first, Israeli neurosurgeons perform ‘live’ surgeries on Facebook
More than half a million people have tuned in during the last two days and watched the Soroka-University Medical Center operations.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHUpdated: DECEMBER 15, 2016 00:09Dr. Anat Horev performs a brain catheterization live on Facebook(photo credit: SOROKA MEDICAL CENTER)
It’s not recommended for watching before lunch, unless you’re a brain surgeon. Beersheba’s Soroka-University Medical Center thought the general public would like to view uncensored and unfiltered neurological surgery on the Facebook page of Clalit Health Services, which owns and runs the hospital.More than half a million people have tuned in during the last two days and watched the operations, which were broadcast live for the first time in Israel.One case was of a fifty-ish woman suffering from expanded blood vessels in her brain agreed to be opened up on camera.The benign tumor was removed by neurosurgeon Dr. Yisrael Melmed. She is now recovering at the hospital’s new brain center.Another patient underwent brain catheterization to assess an aneurysm, carried out by Dr. Anat Horev, to prevent a stroke.Then there was a 34-year-old pregnant woman who suffered from severe migraine headaches and pressure in the head and was not helped by drugs. Dr. Ya’acov Ezra of the department put her under hypnosis to deal with her symptoms.Another woman, pregnant in her 32nd week, underwent an MRI scan of the fetal brain to determine whether it suffered from a severe congenital defect.A young boy’s brainwaves were registered to find out if he was suffering from epilepsy or another neurological problem.Hospital director Dr. Ehud Davidson said the broadcasts showed only the tip of the iceberg of the abilities of leading Soroka neurosurgeons and neurologists. A center for the research and treatment of cancer will open at the Beersheba hospital next year, and other specialized centers will follow, to improve the health of southern residents, he said.