Documentary series about the brutal, bloody and dangerous history of surgery. Michael Mosley tells the story of surgery through disaster and success.
1. Into the brain. Just over 100 years ago, cutting into the brain was a terrifying prospect for both patients and surgeons. They could count on the surgeon to be bloodily beaten and the patient to die. From crazy skull-opening crowbar accidents to the infamous ice ax lobotomy, this show shows how accident after accident transformed brain surgery into the life-saving discipline it is today.
2. A bleeding heart. With a family history of heart disease, host Michael Mosley took a personal interest in these pioneers who teetered between savior and executioner. Michael attempts heart surgery, meets a man with no heartbeat, and witnesses a patient being frozen during surgery until his brain shuts down and all his blood is drained.
3. Replacement parts. Today, transplants save tens of thousands of lives each year and replace nearly everything from hearts to eyes. But at first, the grafts killed rather than cured, because the surgeons didn’t understand that they were engaging with one of the most potent killing systems known — the human immune system.
4. Facial fixation. As a modern phenomenon, it actually started more than 400 years ago with a series of botched rhinoplasty procedures. Since then, surgeons have been fascinated by the idea that they can repair not just the body, but even our self-esteem. Host Michael Mosley is bound by both 16th-century restraint and 21st-century Botox on his voyage of discovery.
5. A bloody beginning. Host Michael Mosley discovers just how dark and brutal the early days of surgery can be, when surgeons’ knives will kill you rather than save you and invasive medicines often mean bleeding from leeches within an inch of your life .
