I’ve been unable to sleep tonight, so I decided to have a look at what was on BBC iPlayer. I clicked onto BBC Four and have just enjoyed 90 minutes of interesting programming. One programme, lasting an hour, in particular was one of the most remarkable and interesting television programmes that I have seen in quite sometime.
Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery focused on the historical development of cardiac surgery which has resulted in us being able to perform complex operations in the most remarkable of circumstances. I was amazed by just how far we have come in such a short time in the ability to perform complex cardiac surgery. I was not aware that cardiac surgery was such a recent medical achievement. I had just assumed that it was a lot older given the history of other forms of surgery.
The programmed aired on Wednesday night and can be seen on BBC iPlayer for one week after it was originally aired. I’d recommend it to anyone who can stomach it. The next episode in the series will focus on transplants and I will be sure to watch it. Fantastically interesting stuff!
The other programme I watched was Doctors to be: 20 years on: The surgeon’s Tale. This programme caught up with a consultant surgeon who the BBC had first met when he embarked upon his studies as a medical student. It was an interesting 30 minutes watching his story as he worked his way up to the top of his chosen specialisation. Again, an interesting one to watch!
There is another programme on the BBC Four iPlayer site that I am keen to watch, and will do once I have had some sleep. I am now starting to feel tired (not before time, I’ve been up for 18.5 hours having only had five hours sleep last night). The programme is listed as Medical Mavericks: Series 1: Anaesthesia. The description on the BBC iPlayer website is as follows:
Dr Michael Mosley explores the ways in which pioneering doctors laid the foundations of modern medicine by experimenting on themselves. In charting the development of pain-free surgery, he starts with Humphrey Davy, who inhaled up to 50 pints of laughing gas a day and yet missed its true significance. Conman-turned-dentist Dr William Morton slept with a skeleton by night and experimented with ether by day, while James Young Simpson’s enthusiasm for chloroform led to many deaths.
Again, another truly interesting sounding programme!
prout de jure 
I found you through one of the blogs on my bloglist and read this post. I have problems sleeping quite often and I find that BBC iPlayer can be a saviour when nothing else is available in the early hours of the morning. I had seen the Blood and Guts programme on Tuesday, when it was aired, and the Doctors to Be: 20 years on when it was aired a few months back. I’m old enough to remember the original programmes when they were made and the 20 years on programmes were very interesting showing how the doctors had fared in the intervening years. Like you, I found them very interesting.
I have also seen the Michael Mosley programme about anaesthesia, and you will enjoy that one too. It is part of a short series of programmes about doctors experimenting on themselves in order to bring about advances in medical knowledge.
Having found your blog I have started to read through from the beginning, because I am a depression sufferer too, although in my case I have been suffering for 10 years, and I wanted to see what you said about your experiences of it. I have only been blogging since the end of June, but I know that it is proving to be of benefit to me because it is allow me to say things that I would never dream of saying otherwise. It is truly turning out to be a very therapeutic experience.
I have added you to my bloglist so that I can follow your adventures in life.
I have now watched the Michael Mosley programme about anaesthesia. It was very interesting indeed!