The gripping series Surgeons: At the Edge of Life continues tonight showcasing the talent and skill of our incredible teams at UHS as they carry out some of the country’s most challenging operations.
In tonight’s episode we meet 70-year-old grandmother Jeanette who is in desperate need of heart surgery as her aorta could rupture at any moment - an often-fatal situation. Consultant cardiac surgeon Amit Modi needs to perform an all-day operation where he will remove and replace the damaged section of aorta with a synthetic tube, and take out her faulty aortic valve before sewing in a new one made of bovine tissue.
It’s high-risk surgery as Jeanette’s heart will have to be stopped and her body attached to a heart lung bypass machine which will oxygenate and pump blood around her body. The longer her heart is inactive, the greater the risk it will not start again when she comes off bypass and if the stitching and seals are not watertight Jeanette could suffer from a fatal bleed.
The next patient’s conditions are so challenging that consultant spinal surgeons Chris Dare and Steve McGillion need to operate for over 20 hours across two days.
Fifty-nine-year-old Andy, a retired welder, is suffering from two different conditions that have left him in constant pain and barely able to walk; stenosis where compressed discs are pressing on spinal nerves and scoliosis, a curvature of the spine. Throughout both procedures the surgeons will be walking a tightrope - operating for hours within millimetres of spinal nerves and the spinal cord where any damage could leave Andy permanently paralysed.
Don’t miss it! Watch live on BBC2 at 9pm tonight or catch up after on BBC iPlayer