We know that ours is a generation that shares everything and we don’t think twice before putting our lives online before millions of PC users. But somehow I never thought that the social networking media revolution would actually give way to surgeons Twittering “live” about a procedure.

Yes, last week, at Henry Ford Hospital Detroit Michigan, surgeons were preparing to remove a cancerous tumor from a man’s kidney. The doctors and nurses were in the operating room, the surgical instruments were being sterilized and the chief resident Dr. Raj Laungani was furiously Twittering on his laptop. That’s right — last week, for the second known time, surgeons Twittered a surgery by using social-networking site Twitter to give short real-time updates about the procedure. (You can read the “Tweetstream” or watch video of the tumor removal on YouTube).

Dr. Craig Rogers, the lead surgeon in the Henry Ford surgery, said the impetus for his Twittering was to let people know that a tumor can be removed without taking the entire kidney. “We’re trying to use this as a way to get the word out,” Rogers said. “Doing this removes a real communication barrier. It helps make something scary much more comprehendable,” said Christopher Parks, co-founder of the Web site changehealthcare.com.

I agree with a tweeter from New York when he says. “It’s an interesting use of technology, but I can’t help but feel a bit ‘eeewww!’ about this,” So would you let your surgeon “Tweet” from the Operating Room?

Via : CNN