Forty-five years of cardiac surgery
In my gym, I meet the best people, and have the most interesting conversations, in the jacuzzi. It’s located in a corner of the large pool area and surrounded by a huge bay window extension. The sun is abundant, the water seems tropical, and, if I would drink, I would only ask for little drinks […]
Why Doctors Commit Suicides
This had happened at the end of one of my surgical boards’ exams, quite a long time ago. The day was long and we were all exhausted. We were also anxious to know if we passed. Years of studies, sacrifices and high expectations finally came to the end. We were about to become board certified. […]
The Physicians with an Artistic Mind
Recently, I came across of a unique book. This work is a tribute by Dr. Gosta Iwasiuk to his father Vladimir. It’s an anthology of the works of a person, who created a magnificent body of paintings and sculptures. In his spare time, he was also a physician. Born just before WW1 started, Vladimir went […]
How to Deal with Anger like Buddha
One day, the Buddha and a large following of monks and nuns were passing through a village. The Buddha chose a large shade tree to sit beneath, so the group could rest for a while out of the heat. He often chose times like these to teach, and so he began to speak. Soon, villagers […]
Anger in the operating room
This scene looks familiar to most people who ever worked in the operating room. A high-power doctor, say a cardiac surgeon, is doing a long and complicated case. The stakes are high, the chances for complications significant, and he dreads any mistakes. Everybody in the room senses a tense situation, and all people walk on […]
Story behind the picture
There are no colleges in Poland. In our last year of high school, we had to decide where to continue our education. To help us make a conscious choice, our beloved Latin, French and an ancient history teacher, Mrs. Libera invited several of her graduated students to talk to us about professions they chose. To […]
Would You Have the Courage to Stop Treatment of the Advanced Cancer?
We’ve known each other for close to forty years. She was a good friend of mine and a former wife of my close buddy. I visited her in the delivery room after her son was born. Her marriage didn’t work out, and she ended up by herself. And then she found out, she had breast […]
How to Take Stress while Doing Surgery
By the end of my medical school, I was set to become a cardiologist. At that time, a prominent cardiology department in Warsaw Medical School even offered me a position. Then I had a conversation about my future with a professor who was the head of general surgery powerhouse, well known not only in Poland, […]
Should Surgeons Friend Their Patients on Facebook?
Throughout the history, surgeons not always were held in a high esteem. The first barbers-surgeons in medieval Europe had a terrible reputation. Their job included a wide range of procedures from cutting hair to pulling teeth and amputating limbs. Another favorite procedure was bloodletting, a very impressive event, quite terrifying for the people who watched. […]
