Surgeons: At the Edge of Life

Surgeons at the edge of life is a most appropriate title for this ground breaking series. If you want to see these remarkable people work at the cutting edge (no pun intended) of the medical profession, their is no better series. Each episode (to call it a show does it a disservice) focuses on two remarkable surgical operations at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth hospital and in most instances their task seems against the odds. The case's are explained in straightforward detail with state of the art graphics illustrating the challenges ahead for these pioneers of the medical world. Scenes where hearts are stopped for half an hour, bodies drained of blood, brain surgery carried out whilst the patient is awake are just some of the jaw dropping scenes. The patients are shown with an empathetic approach by the programme makers, never over intrusive and at times it's a very emotional journey as literally live or die situations unfold on camera with not all procedures having a happy ending. In a tv world of vacuous productions, this show is a moving and informative to anyone who watches and is a great tribute to these incredible human's who hold the chance of so many peoples lives in their talented hands.

Surgeons: At the Edge of Life, is a very real and emotional series which is excellently portrayed. It is filmed at the most prestigious hospitals in the UK and shows real life patients undergoing surgical procedures of varying types. Some of these procedures are life threatening from auto accidents and can be life changing forever. Others are about cancers and exactly how a craniotomy is performed. It is not for the faint of heart, as it is actual surgery, not a fictional story. These are real patients, surgeons and surgical teams. I liked how they showed the patient post op and gave the viewer a glimpse of recovery too.

Being an OR nurse for decades. I could relate to all of it, and cannot wait until season 6 comes to the US. Phenomenal filming and directing.

This is an astonishing series that reveals the true complexity of what surgeons can actually do nowadays. It's also a great example of exactly what the BBC was created to do. Unlike most of the TV drama depictions of operating theatres, full of drama and emotion, the reality pictured here is a reassuringly calm and matter-of-fact, as surgeons carry out incredibly complex and high-precision operations with confidence and minimal drama. The thing that most surprised me is how surgeons play the role of super-precise carpenters of plumbers: chiselling, drilling and sawing their way into people's bodies, gluing pieces of bone, or joining arteries together. Every episode makes you gasp in amazement.

So, I'm sure there are surgical training videos that show procedures from beginning to end in the highest detail, and there are medical documentaries that blur out anything more serious than a papercut - this is kind of in the middle. You get the human angle of the patients and families and doctors, and the surgical detail of... well... the only blurring is for patient modesty. There are detailed descriptions of the planning of the procedure, demonstrations of any implants, explanations of surgical techniques - I was thrilled when they used a "flap" to save the skin on a badly burned hand. My Dad was a plastic and reconstructive surgeon (and his wife Kathleen assisted as his nurse) - he brought me a t-shirt from a conference on flaps... and so of course he had to explain them. I think I was 14 at the time... anyway, this is an amazing show, imho - I think it answers so many questions: What do surgeons do? How do they do it? What are they thinking about? Can some particular person be helped by surgery to have a better quality of life? Or life at all? How long can I look at real life surgery, in high definition, without turning away? ;-) It's just a great show! Or your money back from the cost of reading this review.