Renowned heart surgeon Alan Kerr saved Donna Lander’s life in 1987. This year – thanks to a Listener story – he saved her again.
She had been admitted to the heart unit with chest pain after an emergency flight from her New Plymouth home. A 6cm aneurysm in her aorta was rupturing and only urgent surgery could save her life, but it was fraught with risk, both for her and her unborn child. Do doctors deliver the baby first, or try to save Lander’s life and let the baby take its chances?
Usually during open-heart operations, the patient’s body temperature is cooled to reduce its demand for oxygen, but that carried an unacceptable risk to the baby. In a finely judged medical balancing act, the theatre team, led by cardiac surgeon Alan Kerr, decided to keep Lander warmer than usual during the five-hour operation – it would protect the baby but increase her risk of brain damage.
It was “touch and go”, he says – an obstetric team was on standby in case the baby needed to be urgently delivered by caesarean section. “It was a very major operation at the best of times, even in non-pregnant patients. We caught it just at the time of rupture.”
This story is from the September 15-21 2018 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 15-21 2018 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.