Synopses & Reviews
Cardiac surgeon John A. Elefteriades, one of Menand#8217;s Health magazineand#8217;s ten best doctors in America, shares moving patient stories and lessons about the human heart. and#160;
The human heart is a paradox, incredibly strong yet surprisingly fragile. And while stories that reveal its symbolic characteristics abound, there are far fewer that laud its physical capabilities, which are perhaps even more profound.
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Dr. Elefteriades, one of the most respected cardiac surgeons in America, has treated more than 10,000 patients in his distinguished career. Now, for the first time, he shares fascinating stories of his most memorable patients and casesand#151;patients who have challenged him technically and moved him emotionally, patients who have enriched his life and expanded his horizons while he cared for their hearts. By detailing heart conditions and cardiac reparative procedures with specific yet accessible medical narratives, Dr. Elefteriades encapsulates the beauty, complexity, and majesty of the human heart.
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But there is far more to this organand#151;and these storiesand#151;than a collection of veins, arteries, and valves. These are stories of courage, miracles, and the bravery of patients (some famous and others not) and their families when facing nearly insurmountable challenges, offering a thought-provoking, informative, and at times heart-wrenching study of the resilience of both the human body and spirit.
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Synopsis
As an active surgeon and former department chairman, Dr. Paul A. Ruggieri has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of his profession. In Confessions of a Surgeon, he pushes open the doors of the O.R. and reveals the inscrutable place where lives are improved, saved, and sometimes lost. He shares the successes, failures, remarkable advances, and camaraderie that make it exciting. He uncovers the truth about the abusive, exhaustive training and the arduous devotion of his old-school education. He explores the twenty-four-hour challenges that come from patients and their loved ones; the ethics of saving the lives of repugnant criminals; the hot-button issues of healthcare, lawsuits, and reimbursements; and the true cost of running a private practice. And he explains the influence of the "white coat code of silence" and why patients may never know what really transpires during surgery.
Ultimately, Dr. Ruggieri lays bare an occupation that to most is as mysterious and unfamiliar as it is misunderstood. His account is passionate, illuminating, and often shocking-an eye-opening, never- before-seen look at real life, and death, in the O.R.
Synopsis
A true account of going through UCLAs famed Daniel Freeman Paramedic Programand practicing emergency medicine on the streets of Los Angeles.
Nine months of tying tourniquets and pushing new medications, of IVs, chest compressions, and defibrillator shocksthat was Kevin Granges initiation into emergency medicine when, at age thirty-six, he enrolled in the Harvard of paramedic schools”: UCLAs Daniel Freeman Paramedic Program, long considered one of the best and most intense paramedic training programs in the world.
Few jobs can match the stress, trauma, and drama that a paramedic calls a typical day at the office, and few educational settings can match the pressure and competitiveness of paramedic school. Blending months of classroom instruction with ER rotations and a grueling field internship with the Los Angeles Fire Department, UCLAs paramedic program is like a mix of boot camp and med school. It would turn out to be the hardest thing Grange had ever donebut also the most transformational and inspiring.
An in-depth look at the trials and tragedies that paramedic students experience daily, Lights and Sirens is ultimately about the best part of humanitypeople working together to help save a human life.
About the Author
Dr. John A. Elefteriades is the William W.L. Glenn Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Director of the Aortic Institute at Yale University and Yale-New Haven Hospital. He is among the most clinically active academic surgeons in the country and serves on multiple scientific advisory and editorial boards. He is the author of House Officer Guide to ICU Care (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Editions), Advanced Treatment Options for the Failing Left Ventricle, Disease of the Aorta, Your Heart: An Ownerand#8217;s Guide, The Womanand#8217;s Heart: An Ownerand#8217;s Guide, Acute Aortic Disease, and Controversies in Diseases of the Aorta. He is also the author of the medical thriller Transplant, which was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards as a best first novel.