On a Tuesday at the end of July ‘18 I was the on call cardiac surgeon. I had just come back from holiday a couple days earlier and was looking forward to a ‘quiet’ on call. My registrar called me at 19:00 and I heard the phrase dreaded by any on call cardiac surgeon: ‘We ….  Read More

Συστημένο από τον Καβάφη στους προύχοντες What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum?       The barbarians are due here today. Why isn’t anything going on in the senate?Why are the senators sitting there without legislating? Because the barbarians are coming today.What’s the point of senators making laws now?Once the barbarians are here, they’ll do ….  Read More

On a Friday afternoon, on call, I received a call from another hospital: A 42 year old asylum seeker from Africa. Wife and two pre school children left behind. A symptomatic subacute Type A dissection in the context of previous kidney transplant, immunosuppression and acute pneumonia. A virus pandemic framing everything. The perfect storm? Not ….  Read More

‘Its a sheer egocentricity. But that’s the way it gets done. You can’t hesitate, you’ve got to go straight in, firmly, confidently. And hope it turns out alright’. George Daniels on precision watch making. Decision making is arguably the hardest part in cardiac surgery. Taking the right action at the right time can make the ….  Read More