On Tuesday, doctors at Memorial Hermann Northwest in Houston tweeted open-heart surgery, with more than one hundred tweets, photos, and videos.
The double-coronary artery bypass of an unnamed 57-year-old patient was performed by the hospital’s medical director of cardiovascular surgery, Dr. Michael Macris, with another surgeon, Dr. Paresh Patel, handling the tweets, as well as live questions from followers and a Cover It Live module. A “live helmet camera” was also used.
The @houstonhospital Twitter account has 4,910 followers, though it was also retweeted and embedded on various sites, incuding the Houston Chronicle. Rachel McNeil of Houston’s NBC affiliate, KPRC, reported that the new media event, which was done in part to promote awareness of Heart Month, reached 225,000 viewers. It was also covered by the New York Daily News and ABC News online.
Below, you can relive the entire procedure with Memorial Hermann’s Storify of its own Twitter coverage.
Just remember, no matter how many medical shows you watch, this is the real stuff. As CultureMap Houston noted yesterday, it is graphic and not for the squeamish (or, as one of its commenters punned, “not for the faint of heart”).
Again, last warning: if you scroll down, be prepared for graphic medical footage and pictures:
