My case doesn't have a recording, how can I find the recording?

If you cannot find a recording for one of your cases, the recording may not have been matched to the case's information yet. These are called unlinked recordings. Start by confirming the case, then follow the path below for your role.

First, Search for the Case

1. Go to the "Cases" tab on your dashboard.
2. From the sub-menu, select "Search".
3. Look up the case by patient name, case ID, date, or operating room.
4. Open the case to confirm whether the recording is truly missing, or whether a different case already holds it.

If the recording is still missing, it may be waiting in the unlinked recordings list.

If the Recording Is Unlinked

Admins and Facility Admins

The Unlinked Recordings page is available to Admins and Facility Admins. If you have one of these roles, you can locate and link the recording yourself:

1. Navigate to Unlinked Recordings:

   • Go to the "Cases" tab on your dashboard.
   • From the sub-menu, select "Unlinked Recordings". This section organizes all video recordings that have not been connected to any case information.

2. Search for the recording:

   • On the Unlinked Recordings page, you will see a list of operating rooms and dates for which recordings are available but not linked to any case information.
   • Identify the specific room and date of the operation. This structured listing makes it easier to narrow down your search.

3. Review and link the recording:

   • Browse the recordings listed under that room and date.
   • Once you find the recording, you can view it directly and, if necessary, link it to the appropriate case or create new case info as required.

Tip: Periodically review the Unlinked Recordings page so recordings stay linked to their cases, and double-check case information when linking so recordings are easy to retrieve later.

All Other Users

The Unlinked Recordings page is available only to Admins and Facility Admins. If you do not see "Unlinked Recordings" in the "Cases" sub-menu, contact your organization's admin. Give them the operating room, date, and approximate time of the procedure so they can find the recording on the Unlinked Recordings page and link it to your case.

If the Case Shows No Video but the Surgery Was Recorded

A case can show no video even though the operating room recorded it. The most common reason is the recording policy, not a missing or unlinked recording.

Theator records according to each organization's policy. Where recording is opt-in, a case is only shown when the operating surgeon — the primary surgeon or attending, not an assistant, resident, fellow or observer — has recording turned on. If they have not, the case page shows no video even though the recording took place and the video itself was not deleted.

Signs this is what you are seeing:

• The case page says there is no video, but the room was recording at the time.
• The recording log on the case names a policy or a participant, while the page still shows nothing.
• Other cases in the same room on the same day do show video.

What to do:

1. Check the operating surgeon's recording policy — see How to change your personal recording policy. Turning it on applies to future cases; it does not bring back cases that already took place.
2. For a specific past case, ask your Theator representative — a past case can be re-enabled individually.
3. If the surgeon's policy is already on, the recording is more likely unlinked — follow the section above.

Snapshots behave differently. Still images the surgeon captured during the procedure are not removed by the recording policy. Capturing them, and sending them to your hospital's own reporting system, continue to work normally on a case whose video is not shown to you. What the case page cannot display is the images themselves, because they are rendered from the procedure's video — so the snapshots are still recorded against the case, and still reach your hospital system, even when the case page shows no video. See Photo-documentation with Theator.

What's Next?

• Understanding Unlinked Recordings — What unlinked recordings are and how admins link them
• How do I record a case? — Learn about the recording process