Surgery Quotes

“Pilots used to fly planes manually, but now they operate a dashboard with the help of computers. This has made flying safer and improved the industry.
Healthcare can benefit from the same type of approach, with physicians practicing medicine with the help of data, dashboards, and AI. This will improve
the quality of care they provide and make their jobs easier and more efficient”
― Ronald M. Razmi, AI Doctor: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare - A Guide for Users, Buyers, Builders, and Investors

“I didn't expect to recover from my second operation but since I did, I consider that I'm living on borrowed time. Every day that dawns is a gift to me and I take it in that way. I accept it gratefully without looking beyond it. I completely forget my physical suffering and all the unpleasantness of my present condition and I think only of the joy of seeing the sun rise once more and of being able to work a little bit, even under difficult conditions.”
― Henri Matisse

“Surgeons can cut out everything except cause.”
― Herbert M. Shelton

“I sew his ears on from time to time, sure.”
― Patrick O'Brian, Post Captain

“Cutting out bad habits is far more effective than cutting out organs.”
― Herbert M. Shelton, Fasting for Renewal of Life

“We priests are the surgeons of souls, and it is our duty to deliver them of shameful secrets they would fain conceal, with hands careful to neither wound no pollute.”
― Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, Le plus bel amour de Don Juan précédé de Le rideau cramoisi

“The boy's death turned me into a person marked by war: it was the Sarajevo equivalent of a campaign medal, although not one to wear with pride.”
― David Nott, War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line

“Surgeons must be very careful
When they take the knife!
Underneath their fine incisions
Stirs the Culprit—Life!”
― Emily Dickinson

“We both know there's no returning to the beginning, no knowing who you've always been, no going home again. But we also know that there's no staying where you are: that the moment that your body sutures together into a whole and steady place you know, something will give way and you'll be changed to mere parts again.”
― Molly McCully Brown, Places I've Taken My Body: Essays

“Before operating on a patient's brain, I realized, I must first understand his mind: his identity, his values, what makes his life worth living, & what devastation makes it reasonable to let that life end. The cost of my dedication to succeed was high, & the ineluctable failures brought me nearly unbearable guilt. Those burdens are what make medicine holy & wholly impossible.”
― Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air

“Certain brain areas are considered near-inviolable, like the primary motor cortex, damage to which results in paralysis of affected body parts. But the most sacrosanct regions of the cortex are those that control language. Usually located on the left side, they are called Wernicke's & Broca's areas; one is for understanding language & the other for producing it. […]If both areas are damaged, the patient becomes an isolate, something central to her humanity stolen forever. After someone suffers a head trauma or stroke, the destruction of these areas restrains the surgeon's impulse to save a life: what kind of life exists without language?”
― Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air

“Sometimes I go into the hospital and have to do surgery just as the sleeping pills begin to kick in. I spend the rest of the night pinching myself and throwing cold water on my face. At night I tell myself it’s not worth it. I tell myself I hate the Army and wish I’d never joined. I curse the war on both sides, American and Iraqi. I wish everyone would just...die...so that I could go home.”
― Michael Anthony, Mass Casualties: A Young Medic's True Story of Death, Deception, and Dishonor in Iraq

“Surgical Talk

As we look at the insides of humans,
We find the inside of ourselves
And each other.
What lies beneath us?
What do we believe
About the world and our place in it?
We cut down layer upon layer
And dissect the inner life.”
― Eric Overby, Legacy

“He staggered and might have toppled sideways if Clara had not been there, grabbing his arm and steadying him. He turned toward her and saw her read, and then reflect, the anguish in his face. Her grip on his arm went from support to a more frantic clutch. She said under her breath, “You can get through this.” And after a long, shaky breath: “I’ll get you through it.”

But her hand was trembling on his arm.”
― Karen A. Wyle, What Heals the Heart

“He kept eating, with a stubborn determination like something in a dream, until he heard the door open and close again. There was still some soup in the bowl. He set it on the floor for Major, let his head fall into his hands, and sobbed like a broken-hearted child. Or like a young man, barely more than a boy, waking up with only half a leg.”
― Karen A. Wyle, What Heals the Heart

“Into every life some rain must fall and December was one of those months when the downpour was beyond reason. Ursula, my wife of 61 years, had the same problem that I had about five years ago. Namely she had inflamed intestines brought on by a gallbladder operation which caused an intestinal blockage brought on in part by having had a total of 9 intestinal operations over the years. This time it necessitated having the numerous adhesions and quite some internal scar tissue removed. It also required the surgeon to remove a part of her small intestines (with me it was two feet) before being able to glue the two severed parts together again.”
― Captain Hank Bracker, "Salty & Saucy Maine"

“The health of our gut is impacted by our food, lifestyle, toxins, stress, and trauma in our lives, and no drug or surgery can fix that.”
― Nicole Carter, Health Is Not A Mystery: The Cause of Your Illness is Also the Cure

“Joe blinked, turned his head and tried to focus on the table. There was a card that said 'Happy Birthday' except that the word Birthday had been crossed out and the phrase 'Badass Cyborg Arm Surgery' had been hastily written beneath it in what appeared to be black marker.”
― TimeCloneMike, Terra Incognita

“Excuse me? Who here had the bright idea of healing a gunshot wound with the bullet still in it?”

All eyes turned to another doctor that had stepped into the hallway. Toriel narrowed her eyes. “That was my doing. You must be Doctor Akron. Doctor Ross mentioned you might stop by.”

“I'll bet. Listen to me. What you did put that girl's life in danger. You left contaminated shrapnel in an open wound and sealed it up without even trying to sterilize it.”

“I... I am not familiar with the details of human medical treatment-”

“Exactly! You have no business making those kinds of calls! All you did was make things worse! Even with the X-Rays we had to perform exploratory surgery to find all of those bullet fragm-”

Hal Greene suddenly pushed past the queen and stood face to face with Dr. Akron. “Hi there doctor! You sound cranky, you could use some fresh air!”

Before anyone could respond, Hal grabbed the doctor's shoulder, knelt down, pulled, and twisted in one seamless movement that left the doctor in a fireman's carry across his shoulders.

“What in the- PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!”

“I can't put you down here, you silly billy! The fresh air is outside the building! Let's go! DAH NAH NAAAAAH DAH NAH NAHHHH....”

Every person in the hallway watched in confusion as Hal carried the angry doctor on his shoulders, running down the hallway, into the lobby, and presumably outside the building.

“...WAS THAT THE ROCKY THEME HE WAS TRYING TO SING?” Papyrus scratched his skull in confusion.

“Yeah.” Justin shrugged. “Hal loves underdog stories.”
― TimeCloneMike, Ebott's Wake

“New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common. —JOHN LOCKE”
― Lindsey Fitzharris, The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine

“The influence of Sarah Baartman’s beautiful body echoes the most during the present day in our lives; the day of the popular BBL (Black Butt Lift) surgery.”
― Mitta Xinindlu

“Even those who were born in the same skin shade as Sarah Baartman find their backpacks not big enough until and unless it resembles that of the Original Queen of BBL, Ms. Sarah Baartman.”
― Mitta Xinindlu

“Ladies and gentlemen, today many people are paying millions of dollars to have the same body as Ms. Sarah Baartman. What a Force. What a Queen!”
― Mitta Xinindlu

“Sarah Baartman came from being the number one Body Mockery to being the Number One Body Influencer in the whole world. She's a majestic goddess.”
― Mitta Xinindlu

“Modestia është instrumenti më i mirë i një Kirurgu.”
― Dr. Agon Bislimi

“Throughout my profession I have seen Him at work almost daily bringing courage to a patient facing a major procedure, replacing their fear with peace upon entering the operating room; smoothing the way during difficult surgery; encouraging His children with a sense of His presence or providing comfort for anxious parents.”
― Dave A. Walker, God in the ICU

“Even surgeries that doctors deem a success for me have come with a series have come with a series of losses and unexpected compromises. There is no road map but I'm hopeful things will get better -- even when I can't conceptualize what better looks like.”
― Maria Sweeney, Brittle Joints

“Obvious solutions to serious problems often go thousands of years before being stumbled upon. Hand protection on swords, for example, took a remarkably long time to develop; and sanitation in surgery took even longer, and that was with the best and brightest medical practitioners of several eras all cogitating over their tremendous death rates.”
― Eric Jason Casey, Plumleaf the Goblin: A Short Story

“How much more will that cost on top of the surgery?"
Did it matter? She had just spent nearly four thousand dollars getting that salivary gland surgically removed. Was she going to allow her dog to die of an infection because it would cost an extra two hundred?
Bryson took a mental step back. Who in the hell was he to pass judgment? Maybe she didn't have an extra two hundred dollars. Maybe she had scraped together every cent she had for the surgery. He knew better than most what it was like to have to make tough financial choices. He'd spent the better part of his life doing it.
He took Mrs. Stewart's hand in his. "I know it's hard not to stress about the cost, but please don't. The receptionist can tell you about programs that will allow you to pay in installments so that you don't have to cover everything all at once."
The worry marring her features lessened. "Thank you again for all you did for my little Jack." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before slipping past him and walking over to the reception area.”
― Farrah Rochon, Pugs and Kisses

“I keep thinking,” he said once, voice rough, “how many men I told not to move after surgery. I never realized how cruel that sounded.”
― Sonia George, Blindman's Bluff