Transatlantic live brain surgery to be beamed to UK

It's not for the squeamish, but Britons with a strong constitution will get a rare opportunity to view brain surgery as it happens, in an operating room 4,000 miles away in the United States.

As a team of surgeons at Overlook Hospital in New Jersey remove a benign tumor from the brain of a patient on Thursday, visitors at the Dana Center at London's Science Museum will be able to watch, and even ask questions.

"We wanted to try something different," Gaetan Lee, the program developer at the center geared for adults, said in an interview. "This is surgery actually going on."

Several cameras will be positioned throughout the operating room to give observers the best viewpoints of the intricate operation that will begin at about 1:30 p.m. EDT and last a few hours.

As the surgeons work, observers in London can ask questions about the procedure.

"It is a key element - to be able to ask questions," said Lee.

The event, dubbed Brainworks, is nearly sold out. It is the second live surgery beamed to the center in central London. In January, "Cardiac Classroom" showed a live heart operation in the U.S.

The adults-only venue, which opened a year ago, claims to be the only center of its kind in the world and one of the very few focused on adults.

It uses stand-up comics, scientists and state-of-the-art technology to tackle topical and sometimes taboo subjects. The center has delved into face transplants, AIDS and has held seances in an attempt get to the bottom of the paranormal.

Upcoming topics will include a debate on what is gender and climate change.