It is not cinema. Ahmed Benkirane introduces a probe equipped with a mini-camera into the urethra of his patient, covered with a blue drapery and under general anesthesia. Four clots, lodged in her kidneys, make her suffer. This February 13, the 43-year-old urological surgeon tries to remove them with a laser. Six members of the medical staff assist him in the operating room of the Valenciennes hospital center (North). All are dressed in the same outfit: surgical cap and mask, but also heavy lead coat, in order to protect themselves from X-rays.
After a short moment, Doctor Benkirane nods, looking resolved. He is ready. Complete silence in the room. On his right, smartphone in hand, the hospital’s communications officer, Christopher Albano, begins to film. It is 8:30 am, the broadcast of the operation on Facebook Live begins. “Here we are in the bladder,” said the surgeon in a clear voice to Internet users. The first seconds of the live broadcast are already followed by several hundred people. The comments are unanimously enthusiastic. “Likes” are raining.
“It desecrates surgery”
Calm, meticulous, Ahmed Benkirane comments on each of his gestures, details the functioning of his tools and discusses the difficulties he encounters during the intervention. After the bladder, it passes through the ureter to reach the renal cavity, then leaves in search of clots. He will finally find only one, immediately reduced to tiny grains by the laser. The other clots, probably encrusted in the flesh, will be treated in future interventions. When the operation ended, nineteen minutes later, the live stream was viewed by nearly 10,000 people.
Louis Lambret, 22, is one of them: “I was super curious to see that! Exclaims the biotechnology master student in Toulouse. Just three weeks ago, he underwent surgery for a broken arm. “Once installed in the block, I was afraid, I was tense and suspicious. While, in the video, Dr. Benkirane is very pedagogue, he makes us understand his gestures and that desacralizes the surgery. I would have liked to see this live before my operation, it would have helped me to relax! “
This is the second time that the Valenciennes hospital center has broadcast a live operation on Facebook Live. The idea first came to Christopher Albano after the Heritage Days in September 2019. “The opening of two operating theaters was a hit, but only around fifty people had been able to visit,” he explains. . Many people have been frustrated. Since we couldn’t bring everyone into the operating room, we brought the operating room to them! “
“Breaking the old image of the public hospital”
For Rodolphe Bourret, director general of the establishment, these retransmissions have other objectives than the only satisfaction of the public: “These videos have an educational aim, of course, but they are also intended to break the old-fashioned image of the public hospital. We want to show that it can be modern and innovative, and that we have competent teams. “
Given the success of the first two direct, the Valenciennes hospital is already preparing others. Of course, the operations filmed are only done with the agreement of the patient – by preserving anonymity if he wishes it – and that of the surgeon. In order to best protect the safety of patients, they remain simple and short for the time being. “These last a maximum of twenty minutes and relate to functional problems, easily visible to internet users,” explains Dr Benkirane.
Live broadcasters must respect the Facebook Live broadcast rules. However, the digital giant reserves special treatment for medical publications: they can show naked people, blood and visible organs. However, if this is the case, the social network moderation service displays a warning informing them that it is potentially disturbing content and reserves the video for adults 18 years and over. Not enough to discourage internet users: the first direct, shot on January 27 and still accessible, has already accumulated more than 87,000 views.
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