Henry Marsh is a Neurosurgeon working at one of the hospitals I worked at in London, although I can't recall meeting the fellow. In this book it is part memoir about his life and career and the other part is the stories of the patients with brain cancer, aneurysms, tumours and other abnormalities that he has treated. In it he is honest about the balance of the surgeons job, of advising patients, and having to admit to errors and be blunt when further surgery may not bring any benefit to the patient and may be too risky. Doctors like this face ethical dilemmas each and every day, and although they seem to face a lot of bad press in the media, I think that we should be so thankful that there are doctors available with such skills in a difficult area.
He is quite scathing about the all the red tape and political correctness being brought into the hospital by medical management, and that it will end his working career in the UK.
A great read - could only have been made better if it came with pictures!! 4/5
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