Newswise — ORLANDO, Fla. (September 4, 2012) – Using social media, Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children is inviting the world into the operating room as Aiden Burghardt , an 18-month-old boy, undergoes open-heart surgery to repair a congenital heart defect.
Aiden’s surgery will take place Wednesday, September 5, 2012 beginning at 7:30 A.M. The hospital will share photos of the procedure primarily through Instagram and Twitter. Photos can also be viewed at Illuminate, the Arnold Palmer Hospital blog, and Facebook.
The surgery will repair a hole in Aiden’s heart known as an atrial septal defect (ASD). The condition is congenital, meaning Aiden was born with the defect. It is best described as an abnormal opening in the dividing wall between the left and right atria, or the upper chambers of the heart. The live stream of the surgery represents the second time Arnold Palmer Hospital has used social media to live broadcast photos from its operating rooms. A similar event held July 5, 2012 drew an international audience of social media users interested in following the progress of five-year-old Emily Stone, who also had open-heart surgery. That event generated more than 760,000 impressions on the Arnold Palmer Hospital Facebook page.
To follow Aiden’s surgery, users should download the Instagram app, which is available for iPhone and Droid devices, and search for @APhospital. Instagram photos can also be viewed from a computer at http://web.stagram.com/n/aphospital. Twitter users can search for @APhospital or the hashtag #AidensHeart.
Illuminate, the Arnold Palmer Hospital blog, will be updated every five to ten minutes during Aiden’s surgery and will be interactive. Users there will be able to submit questions for Aiden’s surgical team to answer as the procedure progresses. To participate, visit http://myilluminateblog.com/AidensHeart.
ARNOLD PALMER HOSPITAL for CHILDREN Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, supported by the Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation, is a 158-bed facility dedicated exclusively to the needs of children. Located in Orlando, Arnold Palmer Hospital provides expertise in pediatric specialties such as cardiac care, craniomaxillofacial surgery, emergency and trauma care, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, oncology, orthopedics, pulmonology and sports medicine. Visit www.arnoldpalmerhospital.com to learn more about all of our specialties.# # #
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