Maybe you've come across them while mindlessly scrolling through Facebook. Or maybe a fellow mom friend recently shared one to her feed. Either way, thousands of parents are finding themselves mesmerized by the incredibly realistic (yet totally kid-friendly) Play-Doh surgery videos making their way around the internet. (And if you haven't caught one of them yet, go ahead. We'll wait.)
The videos are the brainchild of Jessica So, a board-certified dermatologist and mom of two based in California.
In them, she "performs surgery" on portions of the human body that she's re-created in Play-Doh with lifelike precision. And, as she makes each cut, her 3-year-old son looks on — sometimes asking questions, sometimes giving his mom a helping hand.
All the while, the dermatologist gently describes what she's doing so her son understands each maneuver.
And no, she doesn't create kid-friendly names for everything — she refers to each part of the body by its anatomical name.
In one clip, she shows her son the ins and outs of a carotid endarterectomy surgery (which according to the Mayo Clinic is a procedure to treat carotid artery disease). In another, she goes over a colectomy (aka colon removal). But to really get into things, check out the total hip arthroplasty (otherwise known as a hip replacement).
Think it's hard to stomach? So do we. But then we watched one … and then another. And before we knew it, we were hooked.
On Facebook, So has amassed a loyal following of thousands on her page, The Breakfasteur.
Each new video racks up thousands of views and hundreds of comments from fans who keep coming back for more.
"Man this is awesome!" wrote one mom. "My kids will adore this."
"This is cool very smart way to bond with your child," added another person.
But the videos aren't just a cool way to teach kids about the human body.
They're also actively teaching adults things they never knew before.
"Omg this is beyond impressive! Bravo both mom and kid!" wrote one person.
Many people in the health care profession have appreciated the videos too.
"I am disturbed by the fact that I am learning stuff through these videos … having worked in the OR for many years," wrote one person.
"I took my board exam today and remembered the greater truncator thanks to your video," another person commented. "It's amazing what a visual will do. I can't wait to see what your future videos will include!"
So tells CafeMom that she's been fascinated by how the human body works for some time.
Long before she opened her dermatology practice in 2015, So says she became fascinated with surgery as a small child — just like her son.
"I actually remember watching an open heart surgery on TLC with my mom, a registered nurse, at the age of 4," she recalls. "It was an aortic valve replacement, and I still remember being completely entranced by it. It was my greatest dream come true to become a physician, and it is the greatest honor to care for my patients each day I go into work."
The mom of two says her Play-Doh videos started earlier this year and were inspired by a passing comment her son made.
While having dinner one night, So caught her 3-year-old trying to eat a piece of his napkin and warned him against it.
"You'll get a bezoar," she told him, "and you will need surgery to remove it."
A bezoar, she explains, is "a solid mass of indigestible material that accumulates in the stomach and can cause a blockage." (In other words — it's not something you'd want to get.)
That comment stopped her son right in his tracks, and he immediately asked her if he could see what a bezoar looks like.
Together, they began looking at photos of them together — some made of hair, others of plant material — and eventually, they began looking at bezoar removal surgery on YouTube.
"Eventually, I had to turn it off because it was a bit much for me!" she admits. But her son? He was into it. ("It's not gross for me, Mommy," she says he told her. "You can just close your eyes if you want.")
Over time, they watched more surgeries together and her son's fascination with them grew.
"I wish I could do a surgery like that," he finally told her one day — which sparked an idea.
"I rolled out some homemade Play-Doh and set up a simple surgery simulation," she tells us. "He loved it; we reset and repeated it six more times — I could see his confidence grow each time and we reviewed simple anatomy around the case."
Their first "surgery" together was a cholecystectomy, but since then they've moved on to "different surgical subspecialties," the mom says.
So far, the thing that's surprised her most is just how quickly her son seems to be catching on.
"I would never have guessed that he would learn/retain as much as he does at such a young age, and a large part of that is driven by his curiosity," she tells CafeMom. "He is a sponge! I don't think we as 'grown ups' give young children enough credit, but this activity has encouraged me to be more liberal with teaching him things (anything I can)."
Although some might say that teaching surgery is "too much" for a toddler, So begs to differ.
"There is a big movement that play is the 'work' of childhood and I figure this is no different than a child 'playing' house, fireman, farmer, or truck driver," she says.
"He's learning through everything he does; the surgeries are a small percentage of the play he does throughout the week. There is also the aspect of developing fine motor control, problem solving, and working on his attention span and self-control (appropriate for his age, of course)."
Their mother-son projects are pretty intricate, though. After all, a lot goes into making the Play-Doh models.
"Like with most things, a majority of the time is spent with the planning, and there is a wide variance with this," So says. "The preparation includes reviewing the relevant anatomy (jogging memories from medical school 14 years ago), learning different surgical approaches, reading about the racial disparities that exist with these procedures, and then ultimately creating a simplified, functional model that a 3-year old can maneuver and have fun playing with."
She admits it doesn't always go smoothly. "I've missed the mark a few times, and he certainly lets me know!"
Still, few could argue that her son is benefitting from it — big time. And apparently, so is the rest of the internet!
So tells CafeMom that she's been "shocked" by the incredible response the videos have received since posting them.
So far, she's received messages from everyone from medical students who appreciate the accuracy of the re-creations to parents of doctors, who are just now able to connect with what their children do during their day jobs.
Even "squeamish grownups" who've been curious certain procedures but "couldn’t stomach the gore" have reached out to thank her. (We definitely fall into this camp.)
"I feel privileged to showcase the coolest job in the world to a clearly captive audience — hopefully inspiring the next generation to ask questions, love learning, work hard, and chase their dreams," she says.
