ELGIN, Ill. — Twitter, the social networking site, allows people to send posts back and forth with answers to the question, “What are you doing?”
ELGIN, Ill. — Twitter, the social networking site, allows people to send posts back and forth with answers to the question, "What are you doing?" One recent morning, as many as 1,000 people were online with the site following along as a hysterectomy was being performed at Sherman Hospital. Providing the "tweets" were Walter Ottenhoff, who texted in answers to submitted questions, and Marc Battaglia, who sent out video and photo links. The duo work for Demi &Cooper, an Elgin-based advertising and marketing firm, and from 7 a.m. until about 11 a.m. provided 369 updates, most of them directly from the OR. According to Michelle Howe, marketing specialist at Sherman, this type of surgery was the first for any hospital in Illinois and the first time a surgery anywhere had been offered as a simulcast on Twitter and Facebook. A 48-year-old Lake in the Hills woman who wished to remain anonymous agreed to let people post about her procedure, a laparoscopic hysterectomy and removal of ovaries, due to heavy bleeding, severe cramps and fibroids. "She was excited to do this and joked that she wished she could stay awake. She wants to see the posts," said Howe. Dr. Raja Chatterji performed the operation, which took about an hour using the da Vinci system, a robotic surgical technique used at Sherman for urological and gynecological procedures. Dr. Humberto Lamoutte served as Chatterji’s "co-pilot" during the surgery, there in case an extra set of hands was needed and to help field questions. Those included one about what is done with the uterus once it is removed and tested for possible cancer. "All medical waste is taken away and incinerated," posted Ottenhoff. Battaglia said a good many following the surgery were from other hospitals. But curiosity brought at least one lay person to the Twitter postings. "I’m interested in new uses of the Internet and social media technologies. I was curious about how this would work," stated Jessica Thompson of Elgin, a project planner with the Aurora-based League of Illinois Bicyclists. Part of the reason for putting the surgery online was to make people more knowledgeable and comfortable with such procedures, said Howe. Another is to build the Sherman brand. "In January, when we did the live Twitter Tour of the new hospital, we started with 174 followers and added 193 to get to 367. The day of the tour, we jumped around 40 followers, around 80 the following day and a steady stream thereafter. We now gain around five to 10 a day, and we’re up to more than 700 followers, and we are hoping to attract more with this," said Howe. "I hope the community gets something out of this," said Chatterji. If you couldn’t follow things live, those still wishing to see the information can visit the Web site, twitter.com/shermanhealth. ______ Copyright 2009 Associated Press (courtesy of Elgin Courier-News). All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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