Life In His Hands
By (Author) Susan Wyndham
Pan Macmillan Australia
Picador Australia
1st April 2009
Australia
General
Non Fiction
Neurosurgery
Popular medicine and health
617
Short-listed for ABIA Australian General Non-fiction Book of the Year 2009
Paperback
312
251g
Charlie Teo is one of Australia's most celebrated yet controversial neurosurgeons. His pioneering 'keyhole' techniques have earned him praise around the world, but in his home country he is regarded by some in the profession as reckless and even dangerous. His stock in trade is 'inoperable' brain tumours - those malignant cancers that others don't dare treat - and by any estimation he is incredibly successful. In over 5000 operations, he has never lost a patient on the table. His more famous cases have included talkback radio shock jock Stan Zemanek, the wives of cricketers Steve Waugh and Glenn McGrath, the cancer specialist Dr Chris O'Brien, and the young classical pianist, Aaron McMillan. Life in His Hands is the remarkable true story of a medical maverick and one of his most high-profile and tragic cases. It is a book full of heartache and hope and scientific marvels.
In her career as a journalist, Susan Wyndham has been editor of Good Weekend magazine, New York correspondent for The Australian newspaper, a deputy editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and a senior writer on books and culture. She is currently literary editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun Herald and lives in Sydney with her husband.