Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
In a crowded theatre everyone was waiting for the show to begin.
Voice 2
But this was not a normal show. The people in the theatre were waiting to watch a live heart operation. That is, they were going to watch the operation as the doctor performed it.
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight will explain how one doctor helped more people learn about the human heart. He did this by letting them watch him operate!
Voice 2
Dr. Francis Wells is a doctor in England. He performs heart operations. Operating on a human heart is a very difficult process. A doctor must have many skills. One wrong move could end a person’s life!
Voice 1
So, why did Dr. Wells decide to let over two hundred people watch him perform such a difficult operation? It is because he wants people to understand their bodies better. You see, Dr. Wells is not just a doctor. He is a teacher too. He believes that teaching people more about their own bodies could help people make healthy decisions.
Voice 3
“Everybody has their own body and they should know as much about it as they can or as they want to. I think that is a basic human right. And the more you know about your body, the beauty of it, the delicacy of it and the wonder of the way it works, the more likely you are to take care of it.”
Voice 2
In order to perform a live heart operation, Dr. Wells needed a few things. First, and most important, he needed a willing patient! This patient had to be willing to let other people watch the doctor cut into his chest. He had to be willing to let other people watch, even if something went wrong during the operation.
Voice 1
Dr. Wells explains that he had no problem finding a willing patient.
Voice 3
“People are very kind, if they know why you want to do it. They trust you and they know you will look after them. And it is their right to say no right up to the moment that they go to sleep before the operation begins. And when you explain it like that, they are usually very happy to help.”
Voice 2
Next, Dr. Wells needed a camera and a satellite link. The camera would be in the room while Wells performed the operation. The satellite link would send the images to the theatre. That is how the people in the theatre would be able to watch Dr. Wells.
Voice 1
It was not hard for Dr. Wells to find a camera and set up the satellite link. Many hospitals use cameras during operations. Using cameras is a good way for medical students to learn how to perform operations themselves. Dr. Wells explains.
Voice 3
“I do a lot of teaching. But, in an operating room you cannot have twenty to thirty university students gathering around. So, I run camera-based courses. I commonly have the students in a theatre in another part of the hospital watching the operation.”
Voice 2
It is normal for students to learn through the use of cameras in an operating room. But having common citizens watch an operation is a new idea. Dr. Wells says it does not matter who is watching. What remains important is this:
Voice 3
“It is a matter of making sure in everybody’s minds that the most important person in the room is the patient. Nothing else matters.”
Voice 1
This operation was on a heart valve. The patient’s valve was not working correctly. You see, the heart has four chambers, or empty spaces. These chambers fill with blood and then empty as the heart pumps. In between the chambers there are valves that open and close. The valves let blood in and out of the chambers. If the valves are not working, the heart is not able to pump blood to the body properly.
Voice 2
Here are some of Dr. Wells’ words during the operation. These words were taken from the BBC website. The website provided a short version of the operation. Many of the words Dr. Wells uses are medical words. Just remember that the words describe the area surrounding the heart.
Voice 3
“We have just started. What we have done is we have split the sternum. And we have placed the retracture, which is holding the breast bones back. This man, as you can see, has quite a bit of fat in his mediastinum. We have cleared most of that away. Now we are ready to stop the heart.”
Voice 1
The people watching were able to observe the whole operation. They saw the first incision - the first cut into the skin. They saw the doctor repair the valve. And they saw the wonderful end of the operation. Dr. Wells restarted the newly fixed heart. The operation was a success!
Voice 2
So, do you think that you would like to watch a heart operation as it was happening? Even if you do not, many people do. In fact, the seats for the heart operation event sold in less than twenty-four hours. Over two hundred people watched in wonder as the doctor performed the operation.
Voice 1
Here is what two people had to say after watching the operation.
Voice 4
“That was absolutely incredible! I have never seen anything like it in my life!”
Voice 5
“I am a bit speechless actually. It was amazing. It was really awe inspiring to be able to watch that.”
Voice 1
And here is what one woman had to say when asked if she would watch something like this again.
Voice 6
“Oh, I would put my name down now! If there are any more operations to watch I really want to be there. It was amazing.”
Voice 2
In the Bible there is a song praising God for creating us. The song says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” One way to praise God for our wonderfully created bodies is to learn more about them.
Voice 1
Watching a heart operation is a wonderful way to learn a little more about this part of the body. But, there are other ways to learn about how our bodies work. There are books and Internet sites devoted to sharing information about the body. The goal is to learn more about how to keep our bodies healthy. That way we can avoid visiting the operating room ourselves!
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