Download or read book Open Heart written by Stephen Westaby and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2017-06-20 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In gripping prose, one of the world's leading cardiac surgeons lays bare both the wonder and the horror of a life spent a heartbeat away from death When Stephen Westaby witnessed a patient die on the table during open-heart surgery for the first time, he was struck by the quiet, determined way the surgeons walked away. As he soon understood, this detachment is a crucial survival strategy in a profession where death is only a heartbeat away. In Open Heart, Westaby reflects on over 11,000 surgeries, showing us why the procedures have never become routine and will never be. With astonishing compassion, he recounts harrowing and sometimes hopeful stories from his operating room: we meet a pulseless man who lives with an electric heart pump, an expecting mother who refuses surgery unless the doctors let her pregnancy reach full term, and a baby who gets a heart transplant-only to die once it's in place. For readers of Atul Gawande's Being Mortal and of Henry Marsh's Do No Harm, Open Heart offers a soul-baring account of a life spent in constant confrontation with death.

Download or read book Admissions written by Henry Marsh and published by Thomas Dunne Books. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 2017 National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Finalist, International Bestseller, and a Kirkus Best Nonfiction Book of 2017! “Marsh has retired, which means he’s taking a thorough inventory of his life. His reflections and recollections make Admissions an even more introspective memoir than his first, if such a thing is possible.” —The New York Times "Consistently entertaining...Honesty is abundantly apparent here--a quality as rare and commendable in elite surgeons as one suspects it is in memoirists." —The Guardian "Disarmingly frank storytelling...his reflections on death and dying equal those in Atul Gawande's excellent Being Mortal." —The Economist Henry Marsh has spent a lifetime operating on the surgical frontline. There have been exhilarating highs and devastating lows, but his love for the practice of neurosurgery has never wavered. Following the publication of his celebrated New York Times bestseller Do No Harm, Marsh retired from his full-time job in England to work pro bono in Ukraine and Nepal. In Admissions he describes the difficulties of working in these troubled, impoverished countries and the further insights it has given him into the practice of medicine. Marsh also faces up to the burden of responsibility that can come with trying to reduce human suffering. Unearthing memories of his early days as a medical student, and the experiences that shaped him as a young surgeon, he explores the difficulties of a profession that deals in probabilities rather than certainties, and where the overwhelming urge to prolong life can come at a tragic cost for patients and those who love them. Reflecting on what forty years of handling the human brain has taught him, Marsh finds a different purpose in life as he approaches the end of his professional career and a fresh understanding of what matters to us all in the end.

Download or read book A Surgeon s Lifetime written by David Watkin and published by Troubador Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2023-10-28 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘See one, do one, teach one’ was the basis of David Watkin’s training as a surgeon in the 1960s. By the time he became a consultant, he had ample experience but had received little supervision. He was determined to improve the experience for his juniors. Later, this led to chairmanship of the national committee responsible for training in general surgery. Not from a medical family and with no experience of serious illness or hospital, David had only decided to study medicine when in the sixth form. After training in Bristol, Leicester, Derby and Sheffield he was appointed a consultant in Leicester. He was then invited to be inaugural clinical sub-dean, in charge of setting up clinical teaching in the new Medical School. Comprising ‘guts, glands and arteries’, David relished the broad scope of general surgery, including emergencies. But surgery and the NHS were changing, with technological advances and surgical innovations. When general surgery evolved into specialties, he became a coloproctologist by day, though still a generalist at night. A member of the council of the Association of Surgeons, he was closely involved in these changes. Finally, he was elected president of the Association for 2000-1.

Download or read book Harvey Cushing written by Michael Bliss and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 638 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on new collections of intimate personal and family papers, diaries and patient records, Michael Bliss captures Cushings professional and his personal life in remarkable detail. Bliss paints an engaging portrait of a man of ambition, boundless, driving energy, a fanatical work ethic, a penchant for self-promotion and ruthlessness, more than a touch of egotism and meanness, and an enormous appetite for life. Equally important, Bliss traces the rise of American surgery as seen through the eyes of one of its pioneers. The book describes how Cushing, working in the early years of the 20th century, developed remarkable new techniques that let surgeons open the skull, expose the brain, and attack tumors--all with a much higher rate of success than previously known.

Download or read book Life on a Knife s Edge written by Rahul Jandial and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2021-06-03 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'It's a brilliant book... There are lessons in every paragraph... Get it now.' Chris Evans 'Wonderous and wild. I loved this book' James Nestor, bestselling author of Breath 'Moving, raw and unflinching' Julia Samuel, bestselling author of This Too Shall Pass 'Incredible storytelling' Dr Rangan Chatterjee, bestselling author of Feel Better in 5 ____________________________________________________________________________ How do you carry on when things go deadly wrong? When Dr Rahul Jandial operated on Karina, an eleven-year-old girl whose spinal cord was splitting in two, he had to make an impossible decision. He followed his head over his gut and Karina was left permanently paralysed, altering both patient and surgeon's lives for ever. This decision would haunt Rahul for decades, a constant reminder of the fine line between saving and damaging a life. As one of the world's leading brain surgeons, Rahul is the last hope for patients with extreme forms of cancer. In treating them, he has observed humanity at its most raw and most robust. He has journeyed to unimaginable extremes with them, guiding them through the darkest moments of their lives. Life on a Knife's Edge is Rahul's poetic and beautifully written account of the resilience, courage and belief he has witnessed in his patients, and the lessons about human nature he has learned from them. It is about the impossible choices he has to make, and the fateful consequences he is forced to live with. From challenging the ethics of surgical practices, to helping a patient with locked-in syndrome communicate her dying wish to her family, Rahul shares his extraordinary experiences, revealing the depths of a surgeon's psyche that is continuously pushed to its limits.

Download or read book The Blue Afternoon written by William Boyd and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2010-09-29 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A perfect-pitch story of love and redemption" (The New York Times), Boyd's atmospheric new novel confirms his reputation as heir to the grand narrative traditions of Joseph Conrad and Somerset Maugham. In 1936 Los angeles, as her long-estranged father tells architect Kay Fischer the story behind her secret parentage, he plunges readers into a tale of grisly murders and an illicit passion that still obsseses him 30 years later.

Download or read book The Checklist Manifesto written by Atul Gawande and published by Metropolitan Books. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestselling author of Being Mortal and Complications reveals the surprising power of the ordinary checklist We live in a world of great and increasing complexity, where even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, ever more advanced technologies—neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy in the humblest and simplest of techniques: the checklist. First introduced decades ago by the U.S. Air Force, checklists have enabled pilots to fly aircraft of mind-boggling sophistication. Now innovative checklists are being adopted in hospitals around the world, helping doctors and nurses respond to everything from flu epidemics to avalanches. Even in the immensely complex world of surgery, a simple ninety-second variant has cut the rate of fatalities by more than a third. In riveting stories, Gawande takes us from Austria, where an emergency checklist saved a drowning victim who had spent half an hour underwater, to Michigan, where a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units virtually eliminated a type of deadly hospital infection. He explains how checklists actually work to prompt striking and immediate improvements. And he follows the checklist revolution into fields well beyond medicine, from disaster response to investment banking, skyscraper construction, and businesses of all kinds. An intellectual adventure in which lives are lost and saved and one simple idea makes a tremendous difference, The Checklist Manifesto is essential reading for anyone working to get things right.

Download or read book The Surgeons Life and Death in a Top Heart Center written by Charles R. Morris and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2008-10-17 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Insightful and filled with verve…electrifying." —Wall Street Journal Hailed as "an astute book of enormous importance" (Sherwin Nuland), The Surgeons follows the team at one of the world's premier cardiac surgery and transplant centers. Given unprecedented access, Charles R. Morris recounts in thrilling detail a late-night against-the-clock "harvest run" to secure a precious transplantable organ, the heartbreaking story of a child's failed transplant, and more. Along the way, Morris reflects on how doctors really think, rising health care costs, and the future of health care in America.

Download or read book A Surgeon s Odyssey written by Richard Moss M.D. and published by Archway Publishing. This book was released on 2018-08-17 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 1987 to 1990, author Dr. Richard Moss traveled extensively through Asia while working as a cancer surgeon in four different countries including Thailand, Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. His work was voluntary, however the “payoff” was in the rich, fascinating, and, often bizarre experiences he had both as a surgeon and wanderer. Based on this three-year excursion, A Surgeon’s Odyssey delves into the true-to-life adventures, struggles, and quandaries of a young surgeon from humble beginnings who found himself in a strange and tragic but beautiful world, striving to save those suffering from horrifying disease under hellish circumstances. In this memoir, Moss shares his story that includes insights into life, other cultures and religions, and the tragedy of intolerable disease amidst destitution and scarcity. A Surgeon’s Odyssey tells of a young man’s decision to forgo comfort and financial security for the adventure of a lifetime, pitting himself against the specter of overwhelming suffering and illness. It narrates the unique journey of a cancer surgeon who, against conventional wisdom, embarked on a pilgrimage of healing and experienced surgical triumphs and setbacks amidst some of the most beguiling and fascinating cultures in the world. "A Surgeon's Odyssey" by Richard Moss MD wins the Independent Press Award for 2019 for best book in the category of Travel.

Download or read book Do No Harm written by Henry Marsh and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2015-05-26 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Bestseller Shortlisted for both the Guardian First Book Prize and the Costa Book Award Longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction A Finalist for the Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize A Finalist for the Wellcome Book Prize A Financial Times Best Book of the Year An Economist Best Book of the Year A Washington Post Notable Book of the Year What is it like to be a brain surgeon? How does it feel to hold someone's life in your hands, to cut into the stuff that creates thought, feeling, and reason? How do you live with the consequences of performing a potentially lifesaving operation when it all goes wrong? In neurosurgery, more than in any other branch of medicine, the doctor's oath to "do no harm" holds a bitter irony. Operations on the brain carry grave risks. Every day, leading neurosurgeon Henry Marsh must make agonizing decisions, often in the face of great urgency and uncertainty. If you believe that brain surgery is a precise and exquisite craft, practiced by calm and detached doctors, this gripping, brutally honest account will make you think again. With astonishing compassion and candor, Marsh reveals the fierce joy of operating, the profoundly moving triumphs, the harrowing disasters, the haunting regrets, and the moments of black humor that characterize a brain surgeon's life. Do No Harm provides unforgettable insight into the countless human dramas that take place in a busy modern hospital. Above all, it is a lesson in the need for hope when faced with life's most difficult decisions.

Download or read book Borrowing Life written by Shelley Fraser Mickle and published by Charlesbridge Publishing. This book was released on 2020-04-14 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Against a global backdrop of wartime suffering and postwar hope, Borrowing Life gathers the personal histories of the men and women behind the team that enabled and performed the modern medical miracle of the world's first successful organ transplant. "An extraordinary work. Shelley Fraser Mickle has not only provided a detailed, fascinating documentation of the world's first successful organ transplant, but she has also painted the lives of those involved--doctors, patients, family members--so vividly that the reader is completely enthralled and emotionally invested in their grieved losses as well as their successes. The result is a beautiful tribute to medical science as well as to humanity." Jill McCorkle, NYT bestselling author of Life After Life "Working with Dr. Moore, Dr. Murray and Dr, Vandam to create the painting commemorating their historic operation and the research leading up to it was the greatest adventure of my artistic career. Having my painting on the cover of Borrowing Life renews that excitement, for I know what grand adventure is waiting for the reader." Joel Babb, artist "I was so very pleased to be involved with Shelley as she wrote her captivating, compelling book. I only wish that Ron could be here with me to read it." Cynthia Herrick, wife of the first successful organ transplant donor "Had these men and women not worked diligently to save the life of Charles Woods, I and my 5 brothers and 3 sisters, would not have been born. Charles Woods and Miriam Woods are my parents. It is thrilling to read Ms Mickle's book as it closely mirrors the stories our dad and mom shared with us as children. The amazing thing is that as a disfigured war hero, our dad embraced his appearance as a badge of honor." David Woods Performed at Boston's Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in 1954, the first successful kidney transplant was the culmination of years of grit, compassion, and the pursuit of excellence by a remarkable medical team--Nobel Prize-winning surgeon Joseph Murray, his boss and fellow surgeon Francis Moore, and British scientist and fellow Nobel laureate Peter Medawar. Drawing on the lives of these members of the Greatest Generation, Borrowing Life creates a compelling narrative that begins in wartime and tracks decades of the ups and downs, personal and professional, of these inspiring men and their achievements, which continue to benefit humankind in so many ways.

Download or read book Christiaan Barnard written by David Cooper and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2017-12-17 with total page 860 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Autobiography of a Surgeon written by C R Ballal and published by Manipal Universal Press. This book was released on 2021-06-01 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the eight decades of my life, I have experienced both the pinnacle of success and the depths of sorrow. These have only strengthened my belief in the Lord Almighty. Surgery, as a specialty, is very stressful. Unexpected events that occur either during or after surgery are a part of a surgeon’s life. On occasions, these follow each other ever so quickly. But there are rewards too. The happy and grateful faces that are seen at the time of discharge are images that would remain with me for a long time. Decades later when I meet them at some places their faces light up. These are the moments of sheer joy for a surgeon. Dr C R Ballal

Download or read book A Surgeon s Incredible Life Journey written by Ali H. Morad and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2010 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: His journey began in Iran, where he was born and learned the ways of an ancient civilization. As you travel with him, you will learn about his childhood, his parents, his teenage years and his years as a medical student in Iran. Arriving in a new country where people's beliefs and customs were so unlike his own, he discovered that if you are sincere in your beliefs, no matter how different they may be, most people will respect you and your right to your beliefs. Soon, he had two countries and fond memories of his youth in his native land and a deep gratitude for a country that has given him the opportunity to develop wonderful friendships. He has also learned that people are more alike than they are different and that everyone has a belief of some kind and that they want to be cared about and respected. Having the perspective of a native Iranian and a patriotic American, he provides a view of his heritage, as well as the continuing story of his life here in the United States. He was a surgeon who placed a higher value on being a humane, caring person rather than power or money. He has viewed his patients and co-workers as family and treated them with enduring love and respect. Without exception, they have reciprocated. As a physician, he knows laughter and hope is effective medicine, and he has supplied large doses of these in his stories. It is his desire that they give you enjoyment, as well as a more in-depth perception of a different culture and of the man who came from that culture. This is his small contribution to helping us all learn how to live in peace and harmony with one another.

Download or read book A Doctors Story of Life Death written by Dr Kakarla Subbarao With Arun K Tiwari and published by Prabhat Prakashan. This book was released on 2021-01-19 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explore the profound experiences of life and death through the eyes of a dedicated physician in "A Doctor's Story of Life & Death" by Dr. Kakarla Subbarao with Arun K. Tiwari. Delve into the rich tapestry of human emotions, medical challenges, and ethical dilemmas faced by Dr. Subbarao as he navigates the complexities of his profession. Join Dr. Subbarao as he shares poignant anecdotes, heartwarming encounters, and thought-provoking reflections from his years of practice. Through vivid storytelling and compassionate insight, he offers readers a glimpse into the highs and lows of life in the medical field, from moments of triumph and joy to instances of loss and heartbreak. As you journey through the pages of "A Doctor's Story of Life & Death," you'll gain a deeper understanding of the human condition and the profound impact that illness, suffering, and mortality have on patients, families, and caregivers alike. Dr. Subbarao's firsthand accounts shed light on the challenges and rewards of practicing medicine with empathy, integrity, and humility. One of the most compelling aspects of the book is its exploration of the ethical and philosophical questions that arise in the practice of medicine. Dr. Subbarao grapples with issues such as end-of-life care, medical decision-making, and the limitations of modern medicine, offering readers valuable insights into the complexities of healthcare in today's world. With its blend of personal narrative, medical insight, and philosophical reflection, "A Doctor's Story of Life & Death" is a must-read for anyone interested in the human side of healthcare. Dr. Subbarao's compassionate storytelling and wise observations make this book a valuable resource for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals alike. Don't miss your chance to be inspired by the life and work of Dr. Kakarla Subbarao. Let "A Doctor's Story of Life & Death" be your guide to understanding the profound beauty and complexity of the human experience. Grab your copy now and prepare to be moved by Dr. Subbarao's unforgettable stories.

Download or read book The Man Who Touched His Own Heart written by Rob Dunn and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2015-02-03 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The secret history of our most vital organ: the human heart. The Man Who Touched His Own Heart tells the raucous, gory, mesmerizing story of the heart, from the first "explorers" who dug up cadavers and plumbed their hearts' chambers, through the first heart surgeries -- which had to be completed in three minutes before death arrived -- to heart transplants and the latest medical efforts to prolong our hearts' lives, almost defying nature in the process. Thought of as the seat of our soul, then as a mysteriously animated object, the heart is still more a mystery than it is understood. Why do most animals only get one billion beats? (And how did modern humans get to over two billion, effectively letting us live out two lives?) Why are sufferers of gingivitis more likely to have heart attacks? Why do we often undergo expensive procedures when cheaper ones are just as effective? What do Da Vinci, Mary Shelley, and contemporary Egyptian archaeologists have in common? And what does it really feel like to touch your own heart, or to have someone else's beating inside your chest? Rob Dunn's fascinating history of our hearts brings us deep inside the science, history, and stories of the four chambers we depend on most.

Download or read book Healing Children written by Kurt Newman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A groundbreaking medical memoir by one of our nation's leading pediatric surgeons - the visionary head of Children's National - for fans of Jerome Groopman and Atul Gwande. Anyone who has seen a child recover from a deep wound or a broken bone knows that kids are made to heal. Their bodies are more resilient, more adaptive, and far more able to withstand acute stress than adults. And yet children are often treated as an afterthought by the medical establishment and shunted off to doctors who specialize in treating adults. Will an anesthesiologist accustomed to treating older patients know how best to handle a toddler going under for the first time? If your soccer-playing daughter suffers a concussion, should you take her to the nearest ER--or drive further to seek out doctors who specialize in treating kids? In this deeply inspiring memoir Dr. Kurt Newman draws from his long experience as a pediatric surgeon working at one of our nation's top children's hospitals to make the case that children are more than miniature adults. Through the story of his own career and deeply moving accounts of the brave kids he has treated over the years (and their equally brave and determined parents) he reveals the revolution that is taking place in pediatric medicine"--