Complications

A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science

By: Atul Gawande

Narrated by: William David Griffith

Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Sometimes in medicine the only way to know what is truly going on in a patient is to operate, to look inside with one's own eyes. This book is exploratory surgery on medicine itself, laying bare a science not in its idealized form but as it actually is - complicated, perplexing, and profoundly human.

Atul Gawande offers an unflinching view from the scalpel's edge, where science is ambiguous, information is limited, the stakes are high, yet decisions must be made. In dramatic and revealing stories of patients and doctors, he explores how deadly mistakes occur, why good surgeons go bad. He shows what happens when medicine comes up against the inexplicable: an architect with incapacitating back pain for which there is no physical cause; a young woman with nausea that won't go away; a television newscaster whose blushing is so severe that she cannot do her job. Gawande also ponders the human factor that makes saving lives possible.

At once tough-minded and humane, Complications is a new kind of medical writing, nuanced and lucid, unafraid to confront the conflicts and uncertainties that lie at the heart of modern medicine, yet always alive to the possibilities of wisdom in this extraordinary endeavor.

©2002 Atul Gawande (P)2003 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

"Gawande's sharp eye, crisp prose, and insightful understanding make his book as enjoyable as it is edifying." (Los Angeles Times)

"These exquisitely crafted essays, in which medical subjects segue into explorations of much larger themes, place Gawande among the best in the field." (Publishers Weekly)

"Diagnosis: riveting." (Time)

It's about time...

When I finished this audio book, these words came to me: It is about time someone took the mysticism out of the medical community. It gives hope in large doses.

This is a very well written, informative book and very well read by the narrator. As a surgical nurse and patient advocate for 25 years, I have seen a lot and worked with hundreds of surgeons and the entire gamut of every physician type that this author speaks of. Yes, in the early days, with the crazy ones and the fools, I have watched the Good Old Boys Club protect their own even when they knew it was the wrong thing to do. But I have also seen true courage, love for the patients, love for the work, unwavering dedication, astounding skill, beautiful and artistic craftsmanship, and absolute advocacy for a patient's wellbeing.

This book helps the reader rethink the outdated impression that doctors should be deified and thus obeyed unequivocally. That there is as much of a balance of good and bad in the medical community as there is in any community and that, with an educated point of view, knowledge becomes your empowerment to help make the decisions effecting your life. This book instills in the reader the imperative to proactively undertake the partnership we all should have with our doctors regarding our own health care. And most importantly, even when to walk away from the situation if needed and seek out another doctor who will acknowledge the partnership. The doctor/author helps with the reader's understanding that the majority of our doctors/surgeons are, after all, only human and though experts at what they do, are simply doing what we do in our professions every day: do the best you know how with what you have to work with.

Great book

This is a great and informative book. However, it would be even better unabridged. There is a lot of good stuff left out of this abridged version.

Wonderful Book!

Interested in medicine? Do you wonder what doctors are really like? Then you should enjoy this book. It covers medical ethics, medical mistakes, abuse, and more. Highly recommended. I enjoyed it from begining to end. You will enjoy it.

Thought provoking and entertaining

Atul Gawande is quickly becoming my favorite author. Even the terrible, cheese-and-piano/filled performance (between the short stories) cannot bring the overall rating down; the author is simply to good a storyteller. Gawande takes a brutally honest and introspective look at medicine and humanity. Simply beautiful.

I couldn't stop listening!

This is a fabulous book for anyone with an interest in medicine. I greatly admire Dr. Gawande's candor in providing this fascinating, behind the scenes account of doctors and patients. I listen to books when I drive and there were a number of evenings when I just sat in my driveway because I couldn't put this book down.

My only criticism is not about the story but the Audible.com use of random music throughout. There is annoying piano music at various places - not apparently tied to new topic areas or chapters. I found it distracting and irritating.

Loved this book!

Very informative and well written. The narrator did an excellent job also. I highly recommends!

As usual, great book.....!

I have inhaled each of Dr Gawande’s books; I found them years and years ago, and have jumped on each as it has come out. I have never been disappointed.
Having worked in the medical field for many years (I started before we had CPR, ICU’s, monitors, any disposable equipment) I have seen so many advances, but the underlying humanity of people caring for patients has not changed ... there is a lot of hard science behind medicine, but the emotion and caring remains. The tricky part as well as the great part is to use cold science to underlie the warmth of caring for others.
My only wish: Audible: PLEASE find someone to correct the pronunciation of your narrators! Every time a story develops a smooth flow, and I am immersed: SCREECH! Some technical term is mispronounced!! It destroys the atmosphere, and takes a bit of effort and time to dive back into the flow. I have asked this with each review of a medical book. Any technical term in any field should be pronounced properly; you should have technical advisors or the authors to ensure this!!!!

Freaking Awesome

The stories are crazy interesting and the narrator is perfect. I had to read many of these stories for a class and I just decided to buy the audio so I could listen to them in the car. I ended up listening to every chapter because I enjoyed the stories so much. You MUST read/listen to this!! Especially if you are interested in the health professions!!

Great stories

A great book to all those who love medicine. Great stories, looking forward to more books like this one

it is a book on science

This is a book on theory and practice of medicine and the philosophy of science that informs them. It would be wrong to read it as a consumer-oriented book. Read in proper light, one is impressed of Dr. Gawande's intellectual honesty and curiosity. It is very well written and very thought provoking.