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The Careful Surgeon

Finding light, courage & compassion in the face of life & death

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About this listen

 A teenage victim of a knife attack. A young girl who has nearly lost her leg in a boating accident. A survivor of a major terrorist attack at Westminster Bridge. Trauma surgeon Shehan Hettiaratchy has seen all these people on his operating table. In The Careful Surgeon he explains how it feels to take the lives of these people into his hands.

In this powerful, blood-stopping and incisive insight into the life of a trauma surgeon, Shehan takes us into the heart of what it takes to train, practice, perform and - mostly - perfect his surgical skills. Through real-life case studies of patients, he explains how the emotional connection he makes with them must be set aside the moment he takes a knife to cut them open.

With unflinching honesty, he shows us how things can go wrong within a heartbeat and how, when the darkness sets in, he is able to get up and do it all over again. For, ultimately it is Shehan's patients who show him the light - coping with the very worst life can throw at them, fighting their way back to life - and allow him to do the job he so loves.

Radiant with light and darkness, this is a book full of scenes of life and death that the rest of us rarely even glimmer.©2026 Shehan Hettiaratchy Medical Medicine & Health Care Industry Professionals & Academics Surgery Heartfelt

Critic reviews

Gripping, harrowing and inspiring - a book about saving lives, losing lives and the stubborn hope that keeps a surgeon going.
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Compelling story of determination to care for patients whatever the circumstances and refusing to submit to pressure, challenge and fear of failure as a trauma surgeon. A must read for doctors considering a career in surgery and trauma.

honest, necessarily candid and hopeful memoir of an exceptional trauma surgeons career

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I always think when listening to a biography it is best presented by the author knowing that they truly and thoughtfully put these words together for us to gain a better understanding and honest reflection of how events shaped somebody. The work that the author does whether in the challenging environment of a warzone or in the challenging environment of the NHS is truly remarkable. This book is an unblemished history of a career that has changed and impacted so many lives not only the patients that he has worked with but also his colleagues that every day he supports and leads. I would strongly recommend anybody who has a interest in how our world can shape the person we become take the time to enjoy this audiobook

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