Surgeons: At the Edge of Life

Season 3

2020 · 4 episodes · 3h 40m in all

Surgeons perform extraordinarily complex and risky procedures to transform lives.

Episodes

1. 1

   1. The Pioneers

   6 Oct 2020 · 55 min

   David Jenkins, a world-leading surgeon at Royal Papworth, performs one of surgery's most technically demanding, and extraordinary, operations. Called a pulmonary endarterectomy (PTE), no other hospital in the UK offers this procedure.

2. 2

   2. Marathon Day

   13 Oct 2020 · 55 min

   Addenbrooke's and Royal Papworth hospitals in Cambridge are renowned for the expertise of their surgical staff. At both centres, surgeons undertake some of the most complex operations in the world, where technical skill is paramount.

3. 3

   3. No Room for Error

   20 Oct 2020 · 55 min

   Surgeons Marius Berman and Pedro Catarino take on one of the most difficult transplant procedures at Royal Papworth: the double lung transplant. With donor organs in such short supply, there is even more pressure to execute the operation perfectly.

4. 4

   4. The Surgeon's Dilemma

   27 Oct 2020 · 55 min

   Surgeons have to balance the considerable risks of a procedure against the risks of not treating their patients' conditions at all. Maureen has an enlarged aorta which could be fatal if it bursts, but the operation to fix it is also very high risk.