Saturday, July 15, 2017

Open Heart: a Cardiac Surgeon's Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table

By Stephan Westaby
Basic Books, 2017. 287  pgs. Nonfiction

From the time Stephan Westaby watched his grandfather die of heart failure he was determined to become a heart surgeon.  In this book he recounts unique heart operations he has performed during his lengthy and influential career. as a cardiac surgeon. In spite of the all too fragile line between life and death that he encounters daily, his memoir is positive and compassionate as he tells of patients young and old he has helped by developing groundbreaking surgical techniques and technology.    

This is a wonderful book but it is literally not for the faint of heart because he describes the surgeries quite graphically.  SH

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