The Knife's Edge

The Knife's Edge

Author: Stephen Westaby

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2019-03-18

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9780008285777

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An intimate and compelling exploration into the unique psyche of the heart surgeon, by one of the profession's most eminent figures. Although Professor Stephen Westaby was born with the necessary coordination and manual dexterity, it was a head trauma sustained during university that gifted him the qualities of an exceptional heart surgeon: qualities that are frequently associated with psychopathy. His thirty-five-year career has been characterised by fearlessness and ruthless ambition; leaving empathy at the hospital door as thousands of patients put their lives in his hands. For heart surgeons, the inevitable cost of failure is death and in The Knife's Edge, Westaby reflects on the unique mindset of those who are drawn to this exhilarating and often tragic profession. We discover the pioneers who grasped opportunities and took chances to drive innovation and save lives. Often difficult, uninhibited and fearless, theirs is a field constantly threatened by the risk of public failure. Like those before him, Westaby refuses to draw the line in his search of a lifetime solution to problems of the heart. His determination is unerring - a steadfastness underpinned by his unusual mind. But as we glimpse into the future of cardiac surgery, for all its remarkable scientific advancement, one question remains: within the confines of socialised medical healthcare systems, how can heart surgeons - individuals often hardwired with avoidance of self-doubt, a penchant for glory and a flagrant disregard for authority - truly flourish?


Kill as Few Patients as Possible

Kill as Few Patients as Possible

Author: Oscar London

Publisher: Ten Speed Press

Published: 2008-04-01

Total Pages: 122

ISBN-13: 1580089178

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This oft-quoted all-time favorite of the medical community will gladden--and strengthen--the hearts of patients, doctors, and anyone entering medical study, internship, or practice. With unassailable logic and rapier wit, the sage Dr. Oscar London muses on the challenges and joys of doctoring, and imparts timeless truths, reality checks, and poignant insights gleaned from 30 years of general practice--while never taking himself (or his profession) too seriously. The classic book on the art and humor of practicing medicine, celebrating its 20th anniversary in a new gift edition with updates throughout. Previous editions have sold more than 200,000 copies. The perfect gift for med students and grads as well as new and practicing physicians. Approximately 17,000 students graduate from med school each spring in North America.


King of Hearts

King of Hearts

Author: G. Wayne Miller

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2010-02-10

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 0307557243

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Few of the great stories of medicine are as palpably dramatic as the invention of open-heart surgery, yet, until now, no journalist has ever brought all of the thrilling specifics of this triumph to life. This is the story of the surgeon many call the father of open-heart surgery, Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, who, along with colleagues at University Hospital in Minneapolis and a small band of pioneers elsewhere, accomplished what many experts considered to be an impossible feat: He opened the heart, repaired fatal defects, and made the miraculous routine. Acclaimed author G. Wayne Miller draws on archival research and exclusive interviews with Lillehei and legendary pioneers such as Michael DeBakey and Christiaan Barnard, taking readers into the lives of these doctors and their patients as they progress toward their landmark achievement. In the tradition of works by Richard Rhodes and Tracy Kidder, King of Hearts tells the story of an important and gripping piece of forgotten science history.


100,000 Hearts

100,000 Hearts

Author: Denton A. Cooley

Publisher: Briscoe Center for American History

Published: 2012-01-15

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13:

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Pioneering surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley recalls his extraordinary career and achievements, which include performing the first successful heart transplant in the United States and the first clinical implantation of a totally artificial heart in a human being


World's Best Professional Jokes

World's Best Professional Jokes

Author: Clifford Sawhney

Publisher: Pustak Mahal

Published: 2004-04-12

Total Pages: 147

ISBN-13: 8122308716

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The book is divided into 30 professional categories, with some professions containing multiple categories.Only the best jokes have been selected in this compilation.The professions have been listed alphabetically for easy reference.The book is illustrated with over 100 excellent cartoons that are independent jokes in themselves and offer excellent value for money.Indeed, the world`s first book with jokes on so many professions.Guaranteed to make readers cackle, chuckle, grin, guffaw, giggle, hoot, roar, snigger, shriek, titter and finally collapse under piles of laughter!


A Surgeon in the Village

A Surgeon in the Village

Author: Tony Bartelme

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 2017-03-28

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 080704492X

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A “lyrical, inspirational” story of doctors who changed the health care of an African nation (Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation) Dr. Dilan Ellegala arrives in Tanzania, shocked to find the entire country has just three brain surgeons for its population of forty-two million. Haydom Lutheran Hospital lacks even the most basic surgical tools, not even a saw to open a patient’s skull. Here, people with head injuries or brain tumors heal on their own or die. When confronted with a villager suffering from a severe head trauma, Dilan buys a tree saw from a farmer, sterilizes it, and then uses it to save the man’s life. Yet Dilan realizes that there are far too many neurosurgery patients for one person to save, and of course he will soon be leaving Tanzania. He needs to teach someone his skills. He identifies a potential student in Emmanuel Mayegga, a stubborn assistant medical officer who grew up in a mud hut. Though Mayegga has no medical degree, Dilan sees that Mayegga has the dexterity, intelligence, and determination to do brain surgery. Over six months, he teaches Mayegga how to remove tumors and treat hydrocephalus. And then, perhaps more important, Dilan teaches Mayegga how to pass on his newfound skills. Mayegga teaches a second Tanzanian, who teaches a third. It’s a case of teach-a-man-to-fish meets brain surgery. As he guides these Tanzanians to do things they never thought possible, Dilan challenges the Western medical establishment to do more than send vacationing doctors on short-term medical missions. He discovers solutions that could transform health care for two billion people across the world. A Surgeon in the Village is the incredible and riveting account of one man’s push to “train-forward”—to change our approach to aid and medical training before more lives are needlessly lost. His story is a testament to the transformational power of teaching and the ever-present potential for change. As many as seventeen million people die every year because of a shortage of surgeons, more than die from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. Dilan Ellegala and other visionaries are boldly proposing ways of saving lives.


Robotic Cardiac Surgery

Robotic Cardiac Surgery

Author: Changqing Gao

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-11-23

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 9400776608

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Robotic Cardiac Surgery is a comprehensive guide to robotic/totally endoscopic cardiac surgery. The book is intended to provide in-depth information regarding the history of robotic surgical systems, their components and principles. It emphasizes patient selection, perioperative management, anesthesia considerations and management, operative techniques and management, postoperative care and results. Extensive, detailed photographs and illustrations of different kinds of robotic surgery are also included. It provides cardiac surgeons, cardiac anesthesiologists, and perfusionists with a comprehensive review of current robotic cardiac surgeries and related knowledge. Changqing Gao, MD, is a professor at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.


Partners of the Heart

Partners of the Heart

Author: Vivien T. Thomas

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Published: 1998-01-29

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9780812216349

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Visitors to the Blalock Building at the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center are greeted by portraits of two great men. One, of renowned heart surgeon Alfred Blalock, speaks for itself. The other, of highschool graduate Vivien Thomas, is testimony to the incredible genius and determination of the first black man to hold a professional position at one of America's premier medical institutions. Thomas's dreams of attending medical school were dashed when the Depression hit. After spending some time as a carpenter's apprentice, Thomas took what he expected to be a temporary job as a technician in Blalock's lab. The two men soon became partners and together invented the field of cardiac surgery. Partners of the Heart is Thomas's extraordinary autobiography. Trained in laboratory techniques by Alfred Blalock and Joseph W. Beard, Thomas remained Blalock's principal technician and laboratory chief for the rest of Blalock's distinguished career. Thomas very rapidly learned to perform surgery, to do chemical determinations, and to carry out physiologic studies. He became a phenomenal technician and was able to carry out complicated experimental cardiac operations totally unassisted and to devise new ones. In addition to telling Thomas's life story, Partners of the Heart traces the beginnings of modern cardiac surgery, crucial investigations into the nature of shock, and Blalock's methods of training surgeons.


Medicine's 10 Greatest Discoveries

Medicine's 10 Greatest Discoveries

Author: Meyer Friedman

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9780300173550

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In 1675, Antony van Leeuwenhoek, an unlearned haberdasher from Delft, placed a drop of rainwater under his microscope and detected thousands of tiny animals in it. Leeuwenhoek proceeded to examine the microscopic activity of his spittle, teeth plaque, and feces, and as the result of his findings the field of bacteriology was born. Some two hundred years later, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Wurzburg, invited his wife to his laboratory, asked her to place her hand on an unexposed photographic plate, turned on an electric current, and showed this terrified woman a picture of the bones of her hand. And so came the discovery of the X-ray. This absorbing book is the first to describe these and eight other monumental medical discoveries throughout history, bringing to life the scientific pioneers responsible for them and the excitement, frustrations, and jealousies that surrounded the final achievements. Two distinguished physicians, Meyer Friedman and Gerald W. Friedland, have drawn on their many years of experience as well as on that of world-renowned antiquarian book dealers, physician collectors of old and new medical publications, and medical school professors to single out these medical breakthroughs from thousands of candidates, and, in several cases, to provide information never before available. Their engrossing stories of the ten most significant discoveries will be read with enjoyment by anyone fascinated by the mysteries of medicine.