(Photography by Doug Nicholson)
It was an event that captured the collective attention of 900 of the world’s leading gynecologists. On May 16, 2019, three surgeries performed at Sunnybrook were videocast live to a medical conference in Montreal – a Canadian first.
Over three hours, this international audience at the annual meeting of the Society of Endometriosis and Uterine Disorders (SEUD) witnessed Sunnybrook’s leading approaches to operative hysteroscopy, laser treatment of endometriosis and hysterectomy. A team of surgeons wore microphones and headphones, allowing conference moderators to direct audience questions in real time to doctors in the three operating rooms.
“We were able to answer questions on our techniques and ways to reduce patient complications,” says Sunnybrook surgeon Dr. Grace Liu, part of the SEUD organizing committee. “Thanks to positive audience feedback, this could set a new precedent for future videocasts from other hospitals.”
More than 50 Sunnybrook staff from various departments worked together for almost a year to make the videocast happen.
“It was a team effort within Sunnybrook and with the event producers, to organize the technical and logistical aspects for this broadcast,” says Doug Nicholson, assistant manager in digital and visual communications at Sunnybrook. “Events like this help share the advances happening here.”