The neurosurgeon does not pray within the context of do no harm. But there are plenty of others for instance, the mechanical, material side of being, that we also are wire and strings that can be fixed. The goodreads description of do no harm talks about the books astonishing compassion and candor and says its it is a lesson in the need for hope when faced with lifes most difficult decisions. On november 12, 2012, nbc reduced its episode order for the series from to 12 episodes, due to scheduling conflicts episodes were produced and eventually aired on february 8, 20, it was announced that nbc had canceled. Henry marsh is disgusted and fascinated by the brain. We dont need an ancient ancestor, however wellrespected, or an oath to convince us of that. Marsh, a 65 year old london neurosurgeon, reflects back on his long career as a neurosurgeon. Every day, leading neurosurgeon henry marsh must make agonizing decisions, often in the face of great urgency and uncertainty. Marsh takes the reader into deep into a world of life, death, and everything in between. Stories of life, death and brain surgery, a 2014 book by henry marsh. If you believe that brain surgery is a precise and exquisite craft, practiced by calm.
Instead, a man of letters, of learning and of neuroscience, in this startlingly honest book about life, death and brain surgery, marsh remembers his patients. In 1854 florence nightingale introduced measurement of. A brain surgeon exposes life on the inside do no harm is a fascinating look into the reality of life as a neurosurgeon. Each story invites readers into the private thoughts of a neurosurgeon and astonishes them with the counterintuitive compassion. Do no harm is a brilliant read for anyone remotely interested in brain science.
How do they save life and bring hope to the hopeless to do no harm, according to the hippocratic oath. First, do no harm is a reallife dramatization of the routine ethical dilemmas that healthcare professionals, patients and their relatives face on a daytoday basis. With rare and unflinching honesty, henry marsh describes not only the soaring triumphs but the shattering tragedies that are so much a part of every surgeons life. Do no harm ebook by henry marsh 9781466872806 rakuten. Stories of life, death and brain surgery by henry marsh isbn. The personal patient stories are gripping, providing the public with an incredibly candid look into the imperfections and perfections of a dedicated neurosurgeon. Yet, surely no medical saying is better known than first do no harm or, to use the latin phrase, primum non nocere. We do everything possible to keep our kids healthy, to keep them free from injury, to help them realize their full potential, says robert stern, ph. The personal patient stories are gripping, providing the. With astonishing candour and compassion, henry marsh reveals the exhilarating drama of surgery, the chaos and confusion of a busy modern hospital, and above all the need for hope when faced.
In its first showing, do no harm nearly matched rock centers series low record. Do no harm is an american medical drama television series that aired on nbc from january 31 through september 7, 20. Do no harm is all about neurosurgeon henry marsh, his patients, their outcomes and how the british health care system would frequently get in the way. Stories of life, death and brain surgery amazon uk. With astonishing compassion and candor, marsh reveals the fierce joy of operating, the profoundly moving triumphs, the harrowing disasters, the haunting regrets, and the moments of black humor that characterize a brain surgeons life. Following the dictum means balancing moral principles clinicians of every ilk enjoy aphorisms. Stories of life, death and brain surgery by henry marsh. Just send us an email and well put the best up on the site. And while his book may unsettle readers so many things can go wrong with the brain, so. The hospital where i work is two hundred yards away. Do no harm is a penetrating, inthetrenches look at the life of a modern day neurosurgeon.
In neurosurgery, more than in any other branch of medicine, the doctors oath to do no harm holds a bitter irony. Houstons hermann hospital, a tertiary care hospital that attracts the critically ill and injured, has limited funding for patients whose care is uncompensated. Stories of life, death and brain surgery from the worlds largest community of readers. Marsh has a beautiful narration style which makes this difficult subject very accessible.
Similarly, marshs story about neurosurgeons in poorly equipped ukrainian medical. My book is about what its like to be a brain surgeon, but theres not much about the rest of my life is this what blogs are supposed to be about. I read this book because mr marsh operated on a friend of mine who had a brain tumour. Favourites include time is brain and common things are common. Excessively detailed surgeries diminish the intensity of the chapters. It is a book that reminds us that the world of neuroscience is in its infancy, and one where the ongoing discoveries surely will never end. In do no harm, a brain surgeon tells all the new york. With astonishing compassion and candour, one of the countrys leading neurosurgeons reveals the fierce joy of operating, the profoundly moving triumphs, the harrowing disasters, the haunting regrets and the moments of black humour that characterise a brain surgeons life. The 65yearold is one of the top neurosurgeons in the uk and author of the bestselling book, do no. Do no harm hr report on bahrain, a 2011 report by physicians for human rights. Marshs commitment to his patients and his profession never wavers.
English neurosurgeon henry marsh does write beautifully about brain surgery. Katrina firlik, author of another day in the frontal lobe. Marsh would become one of britains foremost neurosurgeons, and in this unflinching book, do no harm, he gives us an extraordinarily intimate, compassionate and sometimes frightening. Review by jim killgore, publications editor, mddus. Stories of life, death and brain surgery article pdf available in neurology india 201664.
He discusses not only the technical challenges of his career, but also the emotional challenges. First, do no harm harvard health blog harvard health. The book will force you to think of neurosurgeons as normal human beings, who despite their best intentions, can sometimes screw up. This fascinating book by neurosurgeon henry marsh familiar to many from the documentaries your life in their hands and the english surgeon is a memoir of sorts, though woven through a series of vignettes involving some of the patients he has operated on over the years. It requires us to periodically reevaluate that which we have intuitively believed we are doing for the good of patients, while being prepared to accept that we might be wrong. Do no harm provides unforgettable insight into the countless human dramas that take place in a busy modern. Pubmed shows that there are currently 393 articles with do no harm in the title. The principle of do no harm is the foundation of all medical practice. The goodreads description of do no harm talks about the books astonishing. In neurosurgery, more than in any other branch of medicine, the doctors oath to do no. His approach to the doctorpatient relationship features a gentle medical paternalism that incorporates plenty of honesty and kindness. Brain surgeon henry marsh tells of triumphs, failures in.
A friendly orthopaedic surgeon, called in to set marshs broken leg, pities him for his choice of career. Do no harm offers an unforgettable insight into the highs and lows of a life dedicated to operating on the human brain, in all its exquisite complexity. Every day, henry marsh must make agonising decisions, often in the face of great urgency and uncertainty. As a young doctor just starting out, henry marsh watched a neurosurgeon operate on a womans brain, going after a dangerous aneurysm that could rupture and kill her. The subject of the book inevitably makes it sometimes difficult to read and we are reminded about the hand we are all dealt and how that hand can be so cruel and so random. At our last meeting, henry marsh, one of our consultant neurosurgeons, kindly agreed to discuss his new book. Stories of life, death and brain surgery by henry marsh at. May 26, 2015 in his memoir do no harm, henry marsh confesses to the uncertainties hes dealt with as a surgeon, revisits his triumphs and failures and. Reviews of do no harm by henry marsh do no harm the book. What a brain surgeon does in his spare time do no harm. But this is not a gloomy book, it is a testimony of wonder the wonder marsh has felt through being able to operate on the brain. The book is as complex, evocative and cannily crafted as any masterpiece theater production. Of course no physician should set out to do something that will only be accompanied by predictable and preventable harm.
The phrase is sometimes recorded as primum nil nocere nonmaleficence, which is derived from the maxim, is one of the principal precepts of bioethics that all medical students are taught in school and is a fundamental principle throughout the world. After all, this commandment is a crucial caution to all doctors. Do no harm is an unforgettable insight into the countless human dramas. This novel is a biopsy of the sickness of late western society, and more importantly a sign that we are not abandoned in the midst of it, and that good can triumph against all odds. Stories of life, death, and brain surgery by henry marsh. Im thinking whoever wrote that only read half the book. In maidan in kiev five weeks ago wearing my revolutionary blue and yellow ribbon.
Stories of life, death and brain surgery by henry marsh reveals all of this, in the midst of lifethreatening situations, and thats one reason to read it. Each chapters starting point is a reallife case study, and the book conveys both an explorers fascination with the human brain and the contradictory emotional demands of dispassionate observation and compassion required of a brain surgeon good book guide do no harm by henry marsh is that rare thing. Do no harm, a neurosurgeons tales the new york times. But if physicians took first, do no harm literally, no one would have surgery, even if it was lifesaving. Stories of life, death, and brain surgery by henry. The personal patient stories are gripping, providing the public with an incredibly candid look into the. Far more than the average doctormemoirist, marsh does not conceal his. Every book listed is located in my smoke free and climate controlled shop. Phoenix an imprint of the orion publishing group ltd, 2014. The book reads like a novel, but author and new york times writer lisa belkin maintains that every event in the book is true.
146 641 1477 1196 682 1043 539 1392 393 1133 1084 1278 1365 286 1273 1023 164 484 1376 893 713 719 398 1180 725 826 364 38 1485 435 425 18 624 761 907 1105 460 832 837 181 772 270 621