Surgeons fear TV show Operation: Live will put patients’ lives at risk

It’s the new TV show promising viewers a birds-eye view inside an operating theatre. But top surgeons fear those conducting the operations could be distracted by the cameras, with patients’ lives put at risk.

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Surgeons fear a new Channel 7 program showing live operations on prime-time television increases risk for patients.

The Australian-first TV show Operation: Live will air open-heart surgery and a baby born by caesarean section in real-time from Sydney’s St Vincent’s and Mater hospitals next month.

But Royal Australian College of Surgeons president Dr John Batten said the “pressure of live recording” during complex procedures could be distracting.

“The most paramount importance to us is the patient safety aspect,” Dr Batten told The Sunday Telegraph.

“The evidence is mounting that anything that distracts the focus of a surgical team does link to poor outcomes.

Royal Australian College of Surgeons president Dr John Batten is worried the “pressure of live recording” during complex procedures could be distracting. Picture: Supplied

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“One wonders what we’re achieving by live broadcasting compared with pre-recorded and edited, particularly if that pressure of live recording has any effect on the surgeon and their focus on the patient and the task before them.”

A Channel 7 spokeswoman said the safety of patients “comes before any consideration of the television audience”.

“This kind of access to high-stakes, highly complex surgery would not have been possible as recently as five years ago,” the spokeswoman said.

“Advances in technology have made it possible for micro broadcast quality cameras to work in a way that is unseen by the surgeon and the theatre team.”

Operation: Live is based on a UK format and will feature surgeries being performed live.

Operation: Live, based on a UK format, will air the surgeries from start-to-finish, over two nights.

It will feature expert commentary from surgeon Dr Nikki Stamp, who will explain the operation as it happens.

“This is a great way to draw back the curtain and demystify what happens from the moment the patient enters the theatre,” the Channel 7 spokeswoman said.

“This program will help people to manage their own expectations or fears should they find themselves in situations such as this.”

Australian heart surgeon Dr Nikki Stamp will provide expert commentary as the live operation is being filmed. Picture: Supplied

Dr Batten said open-heart surgery “can vary from several hours to 12 hours depending on the complexity”.

“Even though the outcomes are getting better and better, there are inherent risks and anything that actually increases that risk is what we have concerns about,” he said.

“We intend to make concerns known to our Fellows who are part of this and to the producers of the TV program and to the hospitals involved in this because they have to all understand the risks and pressures put on a surgeons in a live broadcast as compared with a pre-recorded known outcome broadcast.”