Confessions of a Surgeon

As an active surgeon and former department chairman Dr. Paul A. Ruggieri has seen the good the bad and the ugly of his profession. In Confessions of a Surgeon he pushes open the doors of the OR and reveals the inscrutable place where lives are improved saved and sometimes lost. He shares the successes failures remarkable advances and camaraderie that make it exciting. He uncovers the truth about the abusive exhaustive training and the arduous devotion of his old-school education. He explores the 24-hour challenges that come from patients and their loved ones; the ethics of saving the lives of repugnant criminals; the hot-button issues of health care lawsuits and reimbursements; and the true cost of running a private practice. And he explains the influence of the white coat code of silence and why patients may never know what really transpires during surgery. Ultimately Dr. Ruggieri lays bare an occupation that to most is as mysterious and unfamiliar as it is misunderstood. His account is passionate illuminating and often shocking - an eye-opening never-before-seen look at real life and death in the OR.