Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 256 pages
- Published by: W. W. Norton
- Edition: 1st Edition October 29, 2007
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0393065626
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0393065626
-
Book Dimensions:
8.4 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
- Weighs: 1.2 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
To get a nuts-and-bolts understanding of heart surgeons—from the decisions they make in the operating room to the impact of colleagues, patients and pharmaceutical companies on their jobs—Morris (
The Tycoons) embedded himself for six months in the elite cardiac surgery center at Columbia-Presbyterian hospital in
New York City. Unlike some noncardiac surgeries where music blares in the operating room, an aortic valve replacement for a retired pharmacy executive, says Morris, is a solemn affair, the calm briefly interrupted only when the patient fibrillates, his heart muscle fibers fluttering irregularly. The author finds it exhilarating to watch as a surgeon basically built a new heart for a five-day-old baby with a major heart malformation. But even technical marvels can't save a desperately ill four-year-old girl after a heart transplant. The reserved Craig Smith, the unit's head, who gained national fame when he performed a quadruple bypass on former President Clinton, impresses readers with his skill and deep concern for his patients. From detailing the workings of the heart's chambers and valves to the bald economics of cardiac surgery—including Smith's income ($1.5 million in 2004), the hospital's billing and collection procedures and forecasts on universal health insurance—Morris masterfully breaks down complex jargon, procedures and policies for a lay audience.
(Oct.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Dr. Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., author of You: The Owner's Manual
An insightful, captivating story of the inner workings of a high tech medical Mecca.
Reader Reviews
Author Charles Morris offers insightful profiles of top cardiac surgeons at a New York area medical center. One gets a sense of the incredible training and sacrifice that goes into being one of these medical virtuosos, who literally hold the lives of patients in their skilled hands. Morris also provides an interesting discussion of health care economics, making predictions on how America may attempt to address the healthcare crisis what with the aging of the Baby Boomer generation. Morris' admiration for the surgeons profiled often leaves him awestruck, with a tendency to deify these practitioners. Rolled out as the proverbial whipping boys are the Bad Guys of Big Pharma and Medical Device Companies. The critique tends to obscure the fact that doctors are somewhat willing participants in the promotional schemes used by such firms, but they escape much of the venom that Morris reserves for health care businesses. "The Surgeons" is an enlightening and thought-provoking book on specialists that you hope you'll never have to see. Take care of your ticker!!
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