One South Florida physician has found a way of using YouTube to ease parents' fears about the delicate surgeries he would be performing on their children.

Dr. Redmond Burke, director of the Congenital Heart Institute at Miami Children's Hospital, has put several of his surgeries on the video-sharing website.

``They have no idea what's happening inside their baby's chest during the scariest time of their life,'' Burke says. ``I want a family to be able to see precisely how I operate.''

At first, Burke was unsure of how families would react. Today, the majority want the operation videotaped. While patients rarely ask to look at paper health records, he says, they might view their electronic records dozens of times.

One video follows an infant's surgery and the nine-day aftermath. Gradually, the tubes and medical paraphernalia surrounding her disappear. In the end, the baby rests next to a giant stuffed monkey, both heading home.

``As a parent, you really want to get video of all those critical moments in your child's life -- their first step, first soccer game,'' Burke says. ``With this video, they can tell their child, `Here's what happened to you. Here's what you survived.' ''

Burke, who edits his own videos, uses a camera that has been part of the operating room for a decade. It allowed the operating team to see what was going on without straining to see over Burke's shoulders. Now, videos the camera captures help strengthen the surgical team's skills and displays their work to the rest of the world.

And families of past and future patients can connect and reassure one another.

``My son had open heart surgery at three months and has had no problems since,'' commented one mother on www.YouTube.com/Miami

Childrens. ``He hasn't had to see a cardiologist in five years and he will be 7 this summer.''

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