Swedish to live-stream knee surgery on Tuesday | Health

For the first time ever, Swedish Hospital will live video-stream a surgery on Tuesday, March 15. The webcast begins at 7 a.m., and the surgery will begin at 8 a.m.

The patient is a 70-year-old man with a history of chronic knee pain. Doctors will use new robotic-assisted technology to resurface only the arthritic part of his knee without sacrificing the entire knee joint.

"Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and a leading cause of disability worldwide," Dr. Sean Toomey said in a press release. "This technology allows us to treat patients with knee osteoarthritis sooner and with much greater precision. We're hoping that with (the) webcast, more patients will be aware of the variety of orthopedic options available to them."

The surgery will take place at the First Hill campus. Viewers can send questions during the surgery using live chat or Twitter (hash tag #livekneesurgery).

Swedish officials warn that viewer discretion is advised, as the surgery can get fairly graphic.