Surgeons - at the edge of life BBC

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Timothy Bucktu

15,231 posts

200 months

Sunday 22nd January 2023
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These are the people who should be getting knighthoods...not the idiots in government who 'got us through' Covid!!

Digger

14,687 posts

191 months

Sunday 22nd January 2023
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Utterly fascinating!

As is the human body & those who dedicate their lives to repairing them . . .

ewolg

Original Poster:

1,678 posts

279 months

Wednesday 25th January 2023
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The brain surgery is just incredible and edge of the seat watching. I’m crossing fingers for her.

Regbuser

3,503 posts

35 months

Wednesday 25th January 2023
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I just know my tourettes would kick in

Johnnybee

2,287 posts

221 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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The point when she lost the power of speech during the operation was very disturbing. It was a relief to see it returning later in the program.

RC1807

12,539 posts

168 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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Bonefish Blues said:
She wasn't found for 3 hours so unlikely a second vehicle was involved
I found that very difficult to watch last week. That could happen to anyone. It genuinely brought a tear to my eye.
Annoyingly my system stopped recording a couple of mins from the end, so I missed the vital info.
Did the lady make any type of recovery?

Bonefish Blues

26,758 posts

223 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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RC1807 said:
Bonefish Blues said:
She wasn't found for 3 hours so unlikely a second vehicle was involved
I found that very difficult to watch last week. That could happen to anyone. It genuinely brought a tear to my eye.
Annoyingly my system stopped recording a couple of mins from the end, so I missed the vital info.
Did the lady make any type of recovery?
Some small motor skills in her hands/wrists, but was leaving hospital displaying a remarkably positive attitude in the circumstances

RC1807

12,539 posts

168 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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Bonefish Blues said:
Some small motor skills in her hands/wrists, but was leaving hospital displaying a remarkably positive attitude in the circumstances
Thank you

Dan_The_Man

1,060 posts

239 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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Totally edge of your seat stuff when you realise it's peoples lives on the line !

Deerfoot

4,902 posts

184 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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RC1807 said:
Annoyingly my system stopped recording a couple of mins from the end, so I missed the vital info.
They're on iPlayer if you want to see for yourself, as above she had a remarkable outlook considering.

I find the surgeon's stitching skills fascinating, as someone who struggles to sew on a button with any degree of skill watching them make water-tight seals while wearing rubber gloves using needles and pliers appears other-worldly.

Edited by Deerfoot on Thursday 26th January 10:09

fourstardan

4,296 posts

144 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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It is a gripping documentary.

I just felt for the woman last night, it was like she knew what had happened and couldn't speak. You could detect the second the speech therapist said it was going down hill something wasn't right.

What a wonderful woman going through that to only prolong the inevitable at most for 24 months.

As im anonymous here, not so much admiration for the bloke with his aneurysm, it never felt like it was a hereditary condition or anything down to his lifestyle based on calcium levels.

The miracle sewing though was unreal, the margin of 2mm between life and death.


Alickadoo

1,702 posts

23 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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My wife and I agreed - before we knew the final outcome - that we wouldn't have gone through that surgery - we would have let nature take its course. That applies to both patients.

Alickadoo

1,702 posts

23 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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RC1807 said:
Bonefish Blues said:
She wasn't found for 3 hours so unlikely a second vehicle was involved
I found that very difficult to watch last week. That could happen to anyone. It genuinely brought a tear to my eye.
Annoyingly my system stopped recording a couple of mins from the end, so I missed the vital info.
Did the lady make any type of recovery?
Very limited recovery, she didn't move from the wheelchair. Unlike some medical programmes, this one doesn't show the longer term outcomes.

fourstardan

4,296 posts

144 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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Alickadoo said:
My wife and I agreed - before we knew the final outcome - that we wouldn't have gone through that surgery - we would have let nature take its course. That applies to both patients.
That must had been dark at 10pm!

I think heart man was they said a 95% success rate, what we couldn't work out is why it took 16 years to do it.


croyde

22,927 posts

230 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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Alickadoo said:
My wife and I agreed - before we knew the final outcome - that we wouldn't have gone through that surgery - we would have let nature take its course. That applies to both patients.
I don't know your age but having seen what chemo has done to friends and family over the years, I'm thinking that now I've made it to 60 and if I got a bad diagnosis, I'd think seriously about just letting nature take its course.

Bit different if you have loads of possible miles in the tank and people/kids depending on you though.

Paul Dishman

4,706 posts

237 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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croyde said:
Alickadoo said:
My wife and I agreed - before we knew the final outcome - that we wouldn't have gone through that surgery - we would have let nature take its course. That applies to both patients.
I don't know your age but having seen what chemo has done to friends and family over the years, I'm thinking that now I've made it to 60 and if I got a bad diagnosis, I'd think seriously about just letting nature take its course.

Bit different if you have loads of possible miles in the tank and people/kids depending on you though.
I think it would also depend on the quality of life post-op. There was a case featured in the last series of a man in his sixties with an aggressive head and neck cancer which they operated on to remove as much of the cancer as possible and did re-construction. Post-operatively they only filmed him from the back and he only survived a few months. That was a horrendous operation and a lot of pain and suffering, personally I'd have opted for palliative care at the beginning. The lady last night with brain-op gambled on getting another 18 months to 2 years with a terminal condition and I'd have done the same.



fourstardan

4,296 posts

144 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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Paul Dishman said:
I think it would also depend on the quality of life post-op. There was a case featured in the last series of a man in his sixties with an aggressive head and neck cancer which they operated on to remove as much of the cancer as possible and did re-construction. Post-operatively they only filmed him from the back and he only survived a few months. That was a horrendous operation and a lot of pain and suffering, personally I'd have opted for palliative care at the beginning. The lady last night with brain-op gambled on getting another 18 months to 2 years with a terminal condition and I'd have done the same.
Considering she only had 12 weeks I think it was a gamble worth taking.

Also, she sounded like the type to respect what she was doing helped future generations.


anonymous-user

54 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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Paul Dishman said:
Deerfoot said:
Halmyre said:
A difficult thing to watch, and I don't just mean the operation procedures.
The X-ray of the neck/spine of the car crash victim was pretty harrowing. She had a remarkable outlook on life considering.

Fascinating watch.
Yes, the expressions on the faces of the staff looking at the scan result said it all. Imagine having to break that news to the patient.
I’ve just caught up on IPlayer and that was very difficult viewing for me, especially looking at those x-ray films and the surgeons reactions.

I broke my neck (C1/C2) when I was 23 but luckily was only paralysed for a few minutes as my spinal cord had been scratched and not severed by the displacement. I was very teary eyed watching that episode and hope that lady continues to keep positive and get the support she needs.

Quattromaster

2,908 posts

204 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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As somebody who spent time in that very same emergency room in 2003 with a spinal cord injury it is always a tough watch, but find I always find amazing.

There were not many camera phones about to record my 4 weeks on life support, followed by 6 months at a spinal unit.

Watching the guy having the chest drains put in, reminded me of the 4 I have, and one of the few memories I have before they put me in a coma, I remember feeling the warm blood drain from my lungs as they cut into them, and heard voices congratulating each other on saving me.

True heroes, every single one of them.

fourstardan

4,296 posts

144 months

Thursday 2nd February 2023
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Just caught up with last nights.

Kidney transplants, absolutely unbelievable to watch and see.