The Globe and Mail - Patients in Pisa put under anesthetic from Montreal; Long-distance procedure a medical first

A team from Montreal's McGill University has pioneered a medical first by administering anesthesia via remote teleconferencing for surgery that was taking place in Pisa, Italy.

On Aug. 30, Dr. Thomas Hemmerling and his team from McGill's anesthesia department treated patients undergoing thyroid gland surgery in Italy, putting them to sleep remotely from a control room in Montreal.

"The practice has obvious applications in countries with a significant number of people living in remote areas, like Canada, where specialists may not be available on-site," Hemmerling told Postmedia News in an interview Friday.