大象传媒

The third series of this groundbreaking series concludes with operations at neighbouring Addenbrooke鈥檚 and Royal Papworth hospitals in Cambridge, where the surgeons have to balance the considerable risks of the procedure against the risks of not treating their patients' conditions at all.

For cardiothoracic surgeon Ravi De Silva, there is a fine balance when it comes to his 75-year-old patient Maureen. She feels relatively well even though she has an enlarged aorta, the main vessel for carrying oxygenated blood to the body - but it is in danger of bursting. If it does burst, it could be fatal, but the operation to fix it is also extremely high risk. In Ravi鈥檚 mind there is a clear choice - the one-off risk of the operation is worth it compared to living with a condition that could be fatal at any time.

At Addenbrooke鈥檚 Hospital, consultant surgeon Emmanuel Huguet and his patient, 72-year-old Chris, also face a difficult choice. Chris has a genetic disorder called AFAP, which means she is susceptible to cancer in her digestive system. She has already had a brush with colon cancer that was successfully treated with surgery. Now a polyp has been discovered in her duodenum, the first part of the small intestine, which may turn into cancer. The only way to remove it in Chris鈥檚 case is to have a Whipple procedure. It is a complicated and risky operation involving removing the duodenum and several other parts of her digestive system, including part of the pancreas, and then rebuilding her digestive tract. In the end, Chris has decided to take on the high-risk procedure. Having lost both her brother and sister to cancer, she is all too aware what could happen if the polyp turns cancerous.