Suction. Scalpel. Tweet Team?

A surgical team at Sherman Hospital in Elgin became the first in Illinois to use Twitter, the microblogging social networking site, to broadcast a play-by-play of operating room actions on Thursday. A special designated tweet team -- separate from the surgical team -- sent updates about the patient, a 48-year-old female, as she received a laparoscopic hysterectomy. Videos of the surgery were also posted by the hospital on YouTube.

More and more hospitals across the nation are using Twitter as an educational tool. Followers can ask the surgeons questions as they operate and friends and family members can stay connected with their loved ones, even if they're under the knife.

The surgeon who performed the hysterectomy at Sherman, Dr. Raja Chatterji, opted for a minimally invasive procedure using robotic tools, instead of an open surgery -- a choice he thought others could learn about by reading the Twitter feed.

"This is a good way to teach the community and show them what we do, because a lot of people don't even know that there’s robotic surgery out there," said Chatterji, who has only recently started using Twitter. [WGNTV, Tribune]

You can see a photo gallery of the tweeted surgery, via The Courier News, here.