Upper GI team star in tonight's episode of Surgeons
The next installment of the gripping series Surgeons: At the Edge of Life airs tonight at 9pm on BBC Two. This week's episode focuses on two incredible operations that take place at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
The first operation focuses on AnnMarie, who accidentally drank bleach when she was a toddler which caused severe damage to her oesophagus. AnnMarie has had trouble swallowing ever since, and needs to have her oesophagus stretched several times per year. This is an uncomfortable procedure in which a balloon is inserted into the oesophagus and inflated.
Tonight’s episode sees AnnMarie undergo an oesophagectomy, despite the risks involved. Her surgeon, Ewen Griffiths, is one of the hospital’s leading consultant upper gastro-intestinal (upper GI) surgeons, and has spent years mastering this complex and risky operation.
The second operation is performed by consultant colorectal surgeon Simon Radley. He operates on retired grandmother Hazel, who has a colon tumour that has spread into her liver and abdominal wall. Without surgery, Hazel would have only months to live, but there is a chance that surgery could remove the disease entirely.
This is another gripping episode of Surgeons, and is one not to be missed! Justine Davy, Head of Fundraising at QEHB Charity, said: “Watching Surgeons makes me incredibly proud to support the amazing work that our surgeons undertake every day here at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. The Charity is proud to fund research into upper gastro-intestinal cancer, supporting the work of Ewen Griffiths and his team.”