Miami Heart Surgeon Displaying Techniques, Reassuring Patients On YouTube
MIAMI (CBS4) - For parents, having a child who needs surgery can be terrifying, especially when you don't know what that surgery entails.
Miami Children's Hospital heart surgeon Dr. Redmond Burke is doing something about that.
The pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon posts many of his complex surgeries on YouTube. He doesn't only act as the surgeon but as videographer, editor, graphic artist and narrator.
After the surgery he goes home, puts a video together with a step by step explanation, and posts it on the video sharing site. Dr. Burke has posted 45 different heart surgeries for babies are online so far.
Dr. Burke's been at Miami Children's Hospital for 17 years, but attributes his tech savvy-ness to his upbringing. He grew up in the Silicon Valley, Cupertino to be exact, home of Apple Computers.
"Really where Apple headquarters is, is in the orchards where I would pick apricots out of and eat them out of the trees," said Dr. Burke.
He spends hours for each ten minute video edited down from hours of surgery, all on his own time and own dime.
The videos gave Danielle Ley and her husband Kewsi Baptiste piece of mind before their baby melody had the same surgery.
"Because of him dong that on the side," said Ley. "He helped me and my family
Dr. Burke's videos have been viewed in 172 countries.
"Surnam, Gibralter, that's great. That's why YouTube was the right place to do this," said Dr. Burke. "I can reach people from around the world. Teach them, reassure them, and show them something they've never seen."
