Saving Lives in Leeds (BBC Wednesday)
Saving Lives in Leeds (BBC Wednesday)
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MXRod

Original Poster:

2,848 posts

169 months

Thursday 9th March 2023
quotequote all
Although not as graphic as” Surgeons at the edge of life “ Saving Lives in Leeds was nonetheless real eye opener .
Two particular procedures stand out .
Firstly a lady in her 80s required a hip replacement , before the replacement could be fitted the “nail” fitted some 60 years ago after a broken femur had to be removed , the surgeon firstly tried a pair of Mole Grips ( the real things ) to pull the nail out , stuck , next was a light slide hammer attached to the grips ,still stuck , then the bone was removed around the end of the nail and grips and light slide hammer , still stuck , finally a clamp was attached and a large ( and I mean large ) slide hammer fitted , the team hammered away for some time the jolts physically moving the lady across the table , it seems the procedure was meant to last 2.5 hrs , in fact it took all day . In the end they gave up and decided to re think , more to come I think .
The other one was a baby 2/3 months with a cyst on her liver , this was done robotically , the surgeon sitting at the controls looking at a magnified image whilst at the baby massive arms were manipulating surgical instruments through keyholes , the whole thing was incredible and held us absolutely gobsmacked , the operation was a success !

Pieman68

4,275 posts

256 months

Thursday 9th March 2023
quotequote all
MXRod said:
Although not as graphic as” Surgeons at the edge of life “ Saving Lives in Leeds was nonetheless real eye opener .
Two particular procedures stand out .
Firstly a lady in her 80s required a hip replacement , before the replacement could be fitted the “nail” fitted some 60 years ago after a broken femur had to be removed , the surgeon firstly tried a pair of Mole Grips ( the real things ) to pull the nail out , stuck , next was a light slide hammer attached to the grips ,still stuck , then the bone was removed around the end of the nail and grips and light slide hammer , still stuck , finally a clamp was attached and a large ( and I mean large ) slide hammer fitted , the team hammered away for some time the jolts physically moving the lady across the table , it seems the procedure was meant to last 2.5 hrs , in fact it took all day . In the end they gave up and decided to re think , more to come I think .
The other one was a baby 2/3 months with a cyst on her liver , this was done robotically , the surgeon sitting at the controls looking at a magnified image whilst at the baby massive arms were manipulating surgical instruments through keyholes , the whole thing was incredible and held us absolutely gobsmacked , the operation was a success !
Go back and watch the first episode from last week and tell me you weren't in tears watching the dad hug his twins after the double hand transplant!

The NHS has it's faults and it's issues, but watching something like this gives you nothing but admiration for what they can achieve

MXRod

Original Poster:

2,848 posts

169 months

Thursday 9th March 2023
quotequote all
Pieman68 said:
Go back and watch the first episode from last week and tell me you weren't in tears watching the dad hug his twins after the double hand transplant!

The NHS has it's faults and it's issues, but watching something like this gives you nothing but admiration for what they can achieve
Yes , I did see that episode , it was totally bizarre seeing the surgeons handling the donor hands/arms , but as you say the end result !

goingonholiday

307 posts

203 months

Thursday 9th March 2023
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Excellent series. Totally stunned by the inefficiency though. Why are consultant surgeons wandering around hospitals trying to find the right person to ask whether they have a bed or not.

In the first episode, the consultant was looking for the right person, found them and then asked if they'd attended the bed meeting, reply was yes. Next question, have I got a bed, reply yes for patient 1, maybe but not hopeful for patient 2. Surely there is a better way!

Randy Winkman

20,497 posts

211 months

Thursday 9th March 2023
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Last night's (Ep 2) was a bit hard to watch in places with delays and with one operation on a woman's hip hitting the buffers for a while with an old metal rod not coming out. I sometimes wonder if I'd rather they only showed me the ones with the happy endings.