Editorial

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

Surgeons: At the Edge of Life

Documentaries

Factual: Health & Wellbeing

Meet the world-leading surgeons pushing science - and the human body - to its limits.

Transforming patients' lives, at the cutting edge of medicine. Meet the world-leading surgeons pushing science - and the human body - to its limits.

BBC Two Northern Ireland

BBC Two England

England

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

BBC Two Scotland

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

Surgeons: At the Edge of Life: Series 1

Jamie Seal

Simon Kerfoot

Richard Bond

Jo Hughes

Dragonfly Film and Television

Surgeons: At the Edge of Life: Series 1: Episode 2: Last Chance Saloon

Factual: Life Stories

surgeons-at-the-edge-of-life_150118_e02_pp.jpg

Episode 2

Episode 2: Last Chance Saloon

Series 1

Last Chance Saloon

BBC Two - Surgeons: At the Edge of Life, Series 1, Last Chance Saloon

Surgeons stop a patient's heart, chill his body and drain his blood in order to operate.

Top surgeons perform high-stakes surgery. The surgeons must stop a patient's heart, chill his body and drain out his blood before they can operate.

The second episode follows some of the country's most daring and skilled surgeons as they perform fiendishly complicated life-saving surgery. Going beyond the theatre doors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, this episode features two procedures so formidable that they would not have been attempted even a few years ago. Surgical teams at the Queen Elizabeth are constantly pushing the limits of what is possible. But despite state-of-the-art diagnostic scanning, sometimes cancer surgeons don't know exactly what they are up against until they open the patient up on the operating table. Even with the most meticulous planning, sometimes they must resort to taking critical decisions live in the theatre.

74-year-old Jasmine Harkness has been referred to the specialist sarcoma unit with a vast tumour in her abdomen, weighing more than three stone - a third of her total body weight. It is consuming her, displacing organs including her stomach and liver. Unless it can be removed, she has just four weeks to live. Sarcoma specialists Sam Ford and Professor David Gourevitch can't be sure whether they will be able to save Jasmine until they open her up and inspect her anatomy. Such is the risk of this surgery - five years ago they would not have embarked on this intervention.

Sue Sinclair, lead anaesthetist and matriarch of theatre, keeps the others in check - working alongside them as they battle to detach the tumour from Jasmine's organs and blood vessels, and remove it intact. Whenever it presses heavily on vital blood vessels, Jasmine's blood pressure plummets, placing her life in grave danger. It will take unwavering focus to keep her alive. The tumour has grown so invasively that it has crushed and displaced Jasmine's internal organs. Sam and David have a puzzle on their hands to identify what and where everything is. At times, dark humour is the only way to release the tension as they grapple with blood, guts and mind-boggling complexity.

BBC Two

Knowledge, drama, comedy and the arts for a broad adult audience.

BBC Two is a lively channel of depth and substance, carrying a range of knowledge-building programming complemented by great drama, comedy and arts.

Documentary following surgeons as they push medical boundaries to the limit.

Documentary series going beyond the theatre doors of Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, where surgeons push medical boundaries to the limits.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Surgeons: At the Edge of Life

Series 1

Episode 2: Last Chance Saloon

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC Two HD

About BBC Two