June 27, 2003

MGH surgeons star in webcast debut

Minimally invasive surgery is the wave of the future. It requires smaller and fewer incisions, utilizes the latest in medical technology and results in a shorter and less painful recovery for patients. The MGH demonstrated this innovative type of surgery to an Internet audience of about 1,400 viewers June 17, with the hospital's first live web broadcast.

An MGH surgical team, (above) , performed a procedure called a laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, which is performed on patients with prostate cancer. Rather than one large opening, the procedure is accomplished through several small incisions in the abdomen. Specially designed surgical instruments and miniature cameras afford the surgeons precise control and excellent visibility for performing the operation.

"Traditional surgical removal of the prostate can mean long recovery times for patients," said Douglas Dahl, MD, FACS, the urologic surgeon who performed the procedure for the broadcast, "but with the laparoscopic procedure, patients usually can return to regular activities more quickly and much more comfortably."

While Dahl performed the surgery during the webcast, his colleague, Shahin Tabatabaei, MD, an MGH urologist, described the procedure and answered questions from viewers through e-mail.

The procedure was broadcast from the hospital's Operating Room of the Future, a state-of-the-art operating suite that maximizes use of new technologies.

The broadcast now is currently available in an archived format and has drawn more than 3,500 viewers to the site. For more information or to view the broadcast, visit www.massgeneral.org/webcast.