Once, when I was a senior resident covering a busy trauma service at a county hospital, I was on call for nine days in a row while my co-chief had an uncovered vacation. It was July, and we were all — interns, junior residents, and me — new…
Category: surgery
Please tell us your cosmetic secrets. We promise not to tell.
I live and work in Los Angeles, one of the plastic surgery capitals of the world. Quite a few of my patients have “had a little work done” — the blandly euphemistic term you’ll hear for plastic surgery makeovers of all kinds. That’s fine. Plastic surge…
Surgery is nothing short of a stupendous magic act
An excerpt from The Invention of Surgery: A History of Modern Medicine: From the Renaissance to the Implant Revolution. Johns Hopkins University was unlike anything ever built. Armed with an enormous endowment from a wealthy industrialist, the hospital…
How 5-year-olds brought out the joy of learning in medical students
Last week, Lais and Yuri, our five-year-old twins, were volunteers at the school of medicine, for students to learn how to examine children. Full disclosure: Volunteers do get a gift card. Therefore, I asked them if they wanted to “work and get s…
When he knew his career as a surgeon was behind him
I feel like I’m in prison. Vacation was a small taste of freedom. A fresh breeze on my face at 9:00 a.m.—the feeling of my mom’s breakfast casserole in my stomach—the small things that remind me I’m still human. I don’t know what I stand for anymore. I…
What is “good enough” for a surgeon?
A surgery resident from halfway around the world emailed me the other day looking for advice as she was nearing graduation. She confessed, “I am beginning to question myself if I am good enough … what is ‘good enough’ anyway?&#…
How artificial intelligence will affect brain surgery
Brain surgery is getting smarter. The journal Nature Medicine recently published a study that found a new imaging technique that allows pathologists to diagnose brain tumors faster and more accurately than ever before. The study focused on Invenio Imag…
How artificial intelligence will affect brain surgery
Brain surgery is getting smarter. The journal Nature Medicine recently published a study that found a new imaging technique that allows pathologists to diagnose brain tumors faster and more accurately than ever before. The study focused on Invenio Imag…
The environmental impact of anesthesia
I am in the operating room working with an attending anesthesiologist I have known for years. “Tell me,” I ask, “Do you and your colleagues talk about the difference between Des and Sevo?” He looks at me without responding. R…
A surgeon on the other side of the operation
Today started like any other day. I woke up, got ready, drove into work. I dropped my bag in my office, changed into scrubs, and wandered down to pre-op. After a few minutes of small talk with the staff, I found the patient I was looking for. He was aw…
