The Doctor's Art
The practice of medicine–filled with moments of joy, suffering, grace, sorrow, and hope–offers a window into the human condition. Though serving as guides and companions to patients’ illness experiences is profoundly meaningful work, the busy nature of modern medicine can blind its own practitioners to the reasons they entered it in the first place. Join resident physician Henry Bair and oncologist Tyler Johnson as they meet with doctors, patients, leaders, educators, and others in healthcare, to explore stories on finding and nourishing meaning in medicine. This podcast is for anyone striving for a deeper connection with their medical journey. Visit TheDoctorsArt.com for more information.
The Doctor's Art
Tales from the Wild West of Cardiac Surgery | Gerald Imber, MD
The history of cardiac surgery is filled with tales of intrepid surgeons with larger-than-life personalities who pushed the limits of the human body and the bounds of what were then considered acceptable medical practices. The result? Heart transplants, pacemakers, artificial heart valves, heart-lung machines, and other once-unthinkable and experimental procedures that have now saved millions of lives.
Our guest in this episode, Gerald Imber, MD, charts these remarkable developments in his 2024 book Cardiac Cowboys: The Heroic Invention of Heart Surgery. While not writing books on the history of medicine, Dr. Imber is a practicing plastic surgeon who specializes in cosmetic surgery. Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Imber talks about the challenging yet rewarding training he underwent as a surgery resident, what it means to have an “eye for aesthetics,” why he decided to write a book on the history of heart surgery, stories of daring surgeons from this history, how he reconciles the drive to push the frontiers of medicine with a regard for patient safety, and more.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
2:15 - What drew Dr. Imber to a career in surgery
7:55 - Dr. Imber’s grueling experiences as a general surgery resident
11:52 - Dr. Imber’s transition into plastic surgery and the aesthetic sensibilities necessary for this speciality
22:46 - What Dr. Imber’s current plastic surgery practice looks like
24:28 - How Dr. Imber finds fulfillment and meaning in his work
25:21 - What motivated Dr. Imber to write Cardiac Cowboys, a book about the history of open heart surgery
30:47 - Balancing risks to patient lives with medical and surgical experimentation
34:25 - A brief history of open heart surgery
40:02 - Key milestones in the development of open heart surgery
45:24 - What Dr. Imber hopes readers take away from Cardiac Cowboys
Dr. Gerald Imber is the author of Cardiac Cowboys: The Heroic Invention of Heart Surgery (2024) and Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted (2010).
Dr. Imber can be found on Instagram at @geraldimbermd.
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