Starting at 7 a.m, surgeons from the Swedish Orthopedic Institute will offer people the opportunity to see a knee surgery in a way that has rarely been done before by a healthcare system - the entire surgery will be streamed live online.

Sean Toomey, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, will repair the knee of a 70-year-old male patient, while surgeon Hames Crutcher, M.D., will moderate the webcast.

Viewer discretion is advised, as the surgery will be shown in entirety and there will be some moderately graphic moments.

This will be the first public live-streamed surgery to happen in the region. Viewers are encouraged to join the stream at www.swedish.org/livekneesurgery where they can directly interface with the moderating doctors during the live surgery to ask any questions, share their thoughts, and learn about the newest advancements in knee and joint replacement. This is also a great opportunity for viewers to get a “behind-the-scenes” look into the OR that is rarely offered.

During the surgery, the video portion of the webcast will be embedded on Swedish’s website, which will be accompanied by a live chat.

Viewers can send questions during the procedure using the live chat features or via Twitter using hash tag #livekneesurgery and may be answered by the narrating physician during the webcast. Anyone interested in learning about orthopedic options at Swedish or surgical technology is encouraged to follow the web stream.

Swedish is the only health system in the Puget Sound region to adopt new robotic technology to assist surgeons by removing and resurfacing only the arthritic part of a knee without sacrificing the entire knee joint. These devices are used in minimally invasive procedures that are performed through a two- to three- inch incision, which allows the surgeon to preserve as much of the natural bone and tissue as possible while offering less scarring and blood loss, a shorter hospital stay and the ability to return to everyday activities much sooner than with traditional knee replacement surgeries. The procedure is designed to treat early to mid-stage osteoarthritis and it can potentially provide more natural knee motion after surgery.

Millions suffer from osteoarthritis and a large percentage of them are diagnosed when the disease is in the early stages. For many people at any age with chronic knee pain, the robot-assisted procedure could be a viable alternative to total knee replacement or traditional manual partial knee resurfacing.

“Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and a leading cause of disability worldwide,” said Dr. Sean Toomey.

“This technology allows us to treat patients with knee osteoarthritis sooner and with much greater precision. We’re hoping that with today’s webcast, more patients will be aware of the variety of orthopedic options available to them.”

Good candidates for the robotic-assisted treatment typically have three common characteristics: knee pain with activity on the inner knee, under the kneecap or the outer knee; pain or stiffness when starting from a sitting position; and failure to respond to non-surgical treatments or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication.

Swedish will hold a free community education session on joint replacement options and the new robotic-assisted technology on Thursday, March 31, 2011, April 14, 2011 and May 5, 2011. To register for these informational classes call 206-386-2502 or register online here.