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| - Last Updated on September 17, 2022 by Team THIP
Quick Take
A Facebook video, which actually is an online game webcast, shows a heart transplant procedure. The process depicted in the game simulation is medically inaccurate and Mostly False. Despite it being a game simulation, we believe it can be highly disturbing, confusing and deceiving for any person who has little or no idea about real life heart transplant operations.
The Claim
A Facebook Video which is a streaming of an online game called Surgeon Simulator has gone viral on social media. The video shows gory simulation of what is described as a heart transplant operation. The gamer is seen to remove the entire upper body and most internal organs while performing a virtual surgery. The post is further captioned “99.9% of people will not do heart transplants” and doesn’t clearly mention that it is a video game simulation. A screenshot of the post is given below:
There are other gamers who have also played the same game and have webcasted it. While some had carefully mentioned it as simulator, the overall depiction remains nearly the same.
Fact Check
Why is this video deceptive?
Despite being a game simulation, the video does not clearly mention the same anywhere in the post. While the presence of the gamer and quality of the graphics may still give out that it is an online game, it can still be perceived to be an actual simulation of any heart transplant procedure. The highly inaccurate nature of the simulation creates a wrong notion about how surgeries are performed. The overall simulation creates a wrong image about a crucial medical procedure without any disclaimer of it being created for fun. For someone who is uninformed about the medical procedure, this could be misleading. Even, considering this as a simulator, the video is medically inaccurate.
Why is this video medically inaccurate?
In many ways, the video game is a complete distortion of the heart related surgical procedures (even if we consider it as a simulator).
The video titles it as an ‘open heart surgery’ and literally opens up the entire upper cavity of the patient. The surgical environment shows no supporting medical staff, and the doctor is not even wearing a pair of gloves. The gamer then further goes to remove all organs of the body one by one and toss it carelessly at the side. And all these happens while showing on the screen that patient is fast losing blood. The doctor (gamer) also sounds confused about ‘how to reach the heart’ and which instrument to use. Overall, this portrays a completely wrong image of how any surgery is performed.
Among many inaccuracies of the procedure, a few are listed below.
Firstly, we emphasize that the term “open heart surgery” refers to a wide range of heart operations. Thus, the surgery is only performed on the chest. The simulation shows the doctor opening up the entire chest and abdominal cavity of a person. As a result, the extent of incision is completely misleading. In the actual procedure, chest is surgically opened. And the surgery is conducted on the heart’s muscles, valves, or arteries. In addition, innovative heart-related surgical treatments could be carried out using small incisions and not a huge cut as shown in the game.
Secondly, it cannot be managed by one person, as demonstrated in the video. A cardiothoracic surgeon heads the team that performs the open-heart surgery. The surgery is performed under general anaesthesia in an operation theatre of a hospital. The surgery is carried out in accordance with strict sterilization protocols. The depiction of a doctor singlehandedly managing a major surgery and also getting confused in between is completely wrong.
Finally, open heart surgery does not cause damage to or amputation or removing of other organs of the body. In the viral video, the doctor cuts through the entire rib case to remove most of the body parts by hand and toss it at the side. This is a completely wrong depiction and thoroughly misleading to any person who is not aware of an operation is performed.
Thus, the video depiction is mostly false and could mislead uninformed viewers about a crucial medical procedure.
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