Under the Microscope

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Under the Microscope is the story of an extraordinary man, his many life-changing inventions, and his exceptional life and special friendships. Born into a family of doctors on the paternal and maternal sides - with a birth defect that no one knew how to treat, Earl Owen was given a dose of radiation before anyone knew what radiation treatment could do to a human body, let alone a newborn baby. Earl Owen s medical parents, aunts and uncles failed to notice that as he grew he walked with a limp and when he was eleven he had an accident in a school race, which left him in hospital for a year enduring a series of excruciating surgeries in an attempt to remedy his damaged bones. Whilst lying in bed alone in a dark basement room in the hospital, he decided he would grow up to be the a new kind of surgeon - one who would deal delicately and carefully with birth defects and would communicate sensitively with patients. When he was discharged from the hospital he took up piano lessons and discovered he was a talented musician. As he came out of his teens, he had to decide whether to pursue a career as a concert pianist or a surgeon. To say this man is a high achiever

Author Bio

Professor Earl Owen is known as one of the inventors of microsurgery and while he no longer operates himself, he remains involved in this specialist surgical practice. He was presented with an Order of Australia in 1980 for his pioneering work in microsurgery; was president of the International College of Surgeons from 1996-8 and has been honoured around the world for his achievements, including receiving the Legion d'honneur for services to French surgery in 2007.