Fragile lives : a heart surgeon's stories of life and death on the operating table / Professor Stephen Westaby.

  • Westaby, Stephen
Date:
2017
  • Books

About this work

Description

An incredible memoir from one of the world's most eminent heart surgeons and some of the most remarkable and poignant cases he's worked on. Grim Reaper sits on the heart surgeon's shoulder. A slip of the hand and life ebbs away. The balance between life and death is so delicate, and the heart surgeon walks that rope between the two. In the operating room there is no time for doubt. It is flesh, blood, rib-retractors and pumping the vital organ with your bare hand to squeeze the life back into it. An off-day can have dire consequences - this job has a steep learning curve, and the cost is measured in human life. Cardiac surgery is not for the faint of heart. Professor Stephen Westaby took chances and pushed the boundaries of heart surgery. He saved hundreds of lives over the course of a thirty-five year career and now, in his astounding memoir, Westaby details some of his most remarkable and poignant cases - such as the baby who had suffered multiple heart attacks by six months old, a woman who lived the nightmare of locked-in syndrome, and a man whose life was powered by a battery for eight years. A powerful, important and incredibly moving book, Fragile Lives offers an exceptional insight into the exhilarating and sometimes tragic world of heart surgery, and how it feels to hold someone's life in your hands.

Publication/Creation

London : HarperCollins Publishers, 2017.

Physical description

ix, 340 pages : black and white illustrations ; 22 cm

Notes

Also published as: Open heart : a cardiac surgeon's stories of life and death on the operating table. New York : Basic Books, 2017.

Contents

The ether dome -- Humble beginnings -- Lord Brock's boots -- Township boy -- The girl with no name -- The man with two hearts -- Saving Julie's heart -- The black banana -- Domino heart -- Life on a battery -- Anna's story -- Mr Clark -- Adrenaline rush -- Double jeopardy -- Your life in their hands.

Type/Technique

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatus
    History of Medicine
    OO.V
    Open shelves

Permanent link

Identifiers

ISBN

  • 9780008209360
  • 0008209367
  • 9780008196769
  • 0008196761