Twitter messages from Iowa operating room

Hospital spokeswoman sent 300 messages to family during hysterectomy

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By The Associated Press

updated 4:32 p.m. ET Sept. 1, 2009

Doctors at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, performed a hysterectomy and uterine prolapse surgery on a 70-year-old woman on Monday. Throughout the surgery a hospital spokeswoman relayed messages from the operating room via Twitter. Here are some of the more than 300 tweets that were posted:

"Drs. making next four incisions right now, less than a 1/2 inch incisions. So far three of the five have been made."
"Question about surgeon placement...one surgeon is operating at a console about 5 feet away from patient. Other dr. is at patient side"
"We have 2 instruments in the patient. One is a scissors and the other is for cauterizing."
"There are two types of stitches used permanent and they dissolve....they are placing them now and will then put the graph in."
"The graph is a Y shape & so the two top ends of the Y are attached one to ea. side of the cervix and the long end is attached to sacrum."
"We are getting ready to secure the uterine muscles and then will do the hysterectomy.
"Dr. Rozeboom has removed the uterus now and will place it near the belly & remove it later."
"Doctor says we are about 1/2 way done with this procedure"
"Dr. Rozeboom is closing up the peritoneum right now. It looks like a long seam he is sewing shut."
"Now we are going to do bladder repair & will undock the surgical robot to do this."
"Dr. Rozeboom is getting ready for the next part of this surgery. He is changing surgical gowns and new getting gloves."
"Both surgeons are stitching up the patient right now. Again, there are 5 incisions smaller than the size of a dime."
"Now the drs. are looking in her bladder to make sure there are no holes."
"Bladder is filled with fluid to allow them to view the bladder better."
"The surgery is now complete. The catheter is going back in right now."

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