"If you can't operate in heels, you can't operate!" - Dr. Kristine Guleserian
"This book should be a gift to any young woman considering a medical career and wondering if she could do it. "
"A fantastic journey into the science of the human heart and one heroic doctor who repairs and replaces them."
"From the very first page right up to the climactic ending, this book will entertain you with the real life wit, humor, and drama."

Kristine Guleserian, pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, is scrubbed in.

Dr. G, as she's known, is one of only nine women in the U.S. sub-specialty board certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgeons to do what she's about to do -- take a scalpel sharper than a dozen razors, cut through eleven-month old Claudia's skin, saw open her breastbone and spread her ribcage apart in order to repair congenital defects threatening a malformed heart the size of a walnut.

It's just after 9:00 AM. Claudia will be in the OR until 2:00 PM, along with a team of talented surgeons, nurses, techs, anesthesiologists, perfusionists and others.

Dr. G is in charge.

What will she find when she opens the chest?

How will this tiny little child hold up in surgery?

You won't believe the real-life medical drama in this intense, close-up visit to the cardiac OR.

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What made you decide to write Surgeon's Story?

I've been a volunteer at Children's Medical Center in Dallas for 20 years, and I got to know Dr. Guleserian in a very casual fashion, seeing her give a couple of lectures and things. But the more I found out about her, as both person and surgeon, the more I thought she'd be a great subject for a book. And she agreed to the project with the one proviso that it would not be in her first-person voice.

What it is like to watch heart surgery?

Well, if your only notion of heart surgery comes from watching MASH, you'd be disappointed. It's almost bloodless. But the most impressive thing is the incredible, complete teamwork in the OR. Surgeons, nurses, scrub techs, perfusionists, anesthesiologists, all work like a well drilled football team, or a perfectly synchronized ballet company. It's really a very beautiful thing to watch.

Who are you hoping will be eager to read Surgeon's Story?

Well, pretty much everybody, obviously. But beyond that, there are two core audiences. First, anybody who has ever enjoyed Chicago Hope or Gray's Anatomy, or ER, and wants to see what really goes on in those life-or-death hospital settings. And secondly, young people, especially girls, who are thinking of careers in science and would like to follow in Dr. G's shoes., ISBN13: 9781935953777 ISBN10: 193595377X Material Type: paperback