UNFORGETTABLE PATIENTS

A doctor shares stories from his half-century in medicine.

“A physician’s experience goes far beyond the clinical,” writes author Hung, as “each interaction between a doctor and a patient is a story.” Following retirement from private practice as an ophthalmologist, he traveled the world performing surgeries, lecturing to physicians and nurses, and donating medical equipment. Hung opens the book by acknowledging career dissatisfaction among 21st-century physicians with regulations, insurance claims, and the need to advertise one’s practice; however, he emphasizes “one of the greatest satisfactions of being a physician is when you relieve your patient’s pain or improve their life.” To this end, the bulk of the book, which consists of 32 vignettes based on the author’s experiences, is a celebration of his profession and patients, many of whom were “petrified of losing their sight.” Having honed his bedside manner over the course of 50 years, in addition to having written multiple novels and travel memoirs, the author is a natural raconteur who approaches each anecdote (and patient) with empathy, professionalism, and an appropriate dash of humor. Readers meet a menagerie of characters, from fellow surgeons (including a “1970s hippie with a long, dark brown ponytail and a thick beard down to his sternum”) to patients from around the world met during his trips to Asia, Oceana, and Eastern Europe. Medical professionals may particularly be drawn to his detailed descriptions of surgeries and diagnoses. He offers, for instance, an in-depth analysis of his first cataract surgery and a description of how to perform a burr hole surgery, a serious medical procedure that dates back to the Neolithic era but is still used occasionally by neurosurgeons today. Written in an accessible, concise style, chapters are generally fewer than 10 pages each and are accompanied by a host of maps, medical diagrams, x-rays, and full-color photographs that complement the book’s absorbing style. The book does, however, end abruptly and could have used a conclusion that tied the stories together.

An engaging, life-affirming celebration of the medical profession.