Blood and Guts

Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery [Kindle Edition]

Author: Richard Hollingham | Language: English | ISBN: B003H4I50S | Format: PDF, EPUB

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Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery
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Today, astonishing surgical breakthroughs are making limb transplants, face transplants, and a host of other previously un dreamed of operations possible. But getting here has not been a simple story of medical progress. In Blood and Guts, veteran science writer Richard Hollingham weaves a compelling narrative from the key moments in surgical history. We have a ringside seat in the operating theater of University College Hospital in London as world-renowned Victorian surgeon Robert Liston performs a remarkable amputation in thirty seconds—from first cut to final stitch. Innovations such as Joseph Lister’s antiseptic technique, the first open-heart surgery, and Walter Freeman’s lobotomy operations, among other breakthroughs, are brought to life in these pages in vivid detail. This is popular science writing at it’s best.

Books with free ebook downloads available Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery

• File Size: 394 KB
• Print Length: 321 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1 edition (April 1, 2010)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003H4I50S
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray:
  Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,048 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #89 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Specialties > Surgery
  • #91 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Special Topics > History

The lurid title of Richard Hollingham's "Blood and Guts" is appropriate, considering its gruesome subject matter. The author traces the history of surgery from ancient times, with the disclaimer that he has not attempted to cover the subject in its entirety. Rather, Hollingham surveys significant events in trauma surgery, cardiac surgery, plastic surgery, transplant surgery, and neurosurgery. He points out that early surgeons, well-meaning though they may have been, probably killed more people than they saved. What chance did hapless patients have without x-rays to show the body's inner workings, anesthesia to reduce pain, and antibiotics and sterile operating rooms to prevent infection? The sick and injured were literally at the mercy of whoever was cutting them. Even if the "victim" miraculously survived, he or she was likely to come out of the operation badly mutilated.

Britain's finest surgeon in 1842 was Robert Liston. Although his operations were "messy, bloody, and traumatic," at least he knew enough to work quickly and under relatively clean conditions. Compared to his peers, he had a low mortality rate--one in six. However, he was arrogant and sometimes careless. During one of his operations, he had a three hundred percent mortality rate--two people died in addition to the patient!

We have come a long way from the days of Liston and especially from the time of the Roman physician, Galen. The latter thought that the heart is a furnace and that the body's humours needed to be rebalanced through vomiting, bloodletting, and purging.

Reviewer's background- I'm a a general surgery resident; I might be harsher than other reviewers, but I hope I can give a review helpful to everyone.

This book is a nice appetizer for anyone interested in the history of surgery. It was written in conjunction with a BBC television series, and it reflects an episodic TV format (for better and for worse).

The good- This is a fun, well written, and fast book to read. The author covers a large swath of surgery: cardiac, transplant, reconstructive and even neurosurgery. Every page has a notable scene / anecdote. Blood and Guts spans centuries, from Galen in Ancient Rome to modern hand transplant surgeons. Despite the pop aspects to Blood and Guts, this is also a smart read. The author trained for 5 years to be a physician, and I think this makes Blood and Guts more intelligent than most journalistic fluff. There aren't the grating errors that make medical professions cringe (unlike most news articles or pop TV). I think the final product belies the amount of research the author put into his work.

What's 'lacking'- Because of the breadth tackled by this book, it doesn't flow seamlessly and lacks a unifying theme. This is fine if you're reading in short bursts (e.g. sitting on the can) but cumbersome if you're reading for long stretches. Also, because of the brevity and quick pace of the book, it doesn't really delve into what the patients or surgeons experienced while encountering such dramatic diseases. Children dying after cardiac surgery, RAF airmen disfigured from battle wounds, terrible surgeons, and great surgeons- it's like you're speed dating them. This book lacks a significant emotional impact for such a potentially powerful subject.

Summary- This is good fast food.

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