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Two procedures so formidable, they would not have been attempted even a few years ago. Surgical teams at the Queen Elizabeth are constantly pushing the limits of what is possible. But despite state-of-the-art diagnostic scanning, sometimes cancer surgeons don't know exactly what they are up against until they open the patient up on the operating table. Even with the most meticulous planning, sometimes they must resort to taking critical decisions live in the theatre. 74-year-old Jasmine Harkness has been referred to the specialist sarcoma unit with a vast tumour in her abdomen, weighing more than three stone - a third of her total body weight. It is consuming her, displacing organs including her stomach and liver. Unless it can be removed, she has just four weeks to live. Sarcoma specialists Sam Ford and Professor David Gourevitch can't be sure whether they will be able to save Jasmine until they open her up and inspect her anatomy. Such is the risk of this surgery - five years ago they would not have embarked on this intervention. Sue Sinclair, lead anaesthetist and matriarch of theatre, keeps the others in check - working alongside them as they battle to detach the tumour from Jasmine's organs and blood vessels, and remove it intact. Whenever it presses heavily on vital blood vessels, Jasmine's blood pressure plummets, placing her life in grave danger. It will take unwavering focus to keep her alive. The tumour has grown so invasively that it has crushed and displaced Jasmine's internal organs. Sam and David have a puzzle on their hands to identify what and where everything is. At times, dark humour is the only way to release the tension as they grapple with blood, guts and mind-boggling complexity.
S1E2 • Surgeons: At the Edge of Life • 2018 • Health
Sleep has long been regarded as nothing more than a way to charge our batteries. But what if it can control our weight, allow us to make memories, and help us to fight off diseases like Alzheimer’s? We travel the world to investigate how revolutionary new technology has revealed the sleeping brain as an energetic and purposeful machine.
2016 • Health
The story of a human life, from first cry to final breath, told from within the body. This documentary film combines state-of-the-art special effects, pioneering CGI, startling realistic models and real in-body photography. Exploring human physiology from birth, through the drama of puberty, into adulthood, and finally old age, the programme offers a visually-stunning insight into how our bodies function. Throughout life we undergo a continuous second-by-second transformation, every move we make and every outside stimulus triggers a reaction through the skin, bones, organs, muscles and cells. We breathe on average 700 million breaths in a lifetime, an adult skeleton is replaced every seven to 10 years, we shed as many as 30,000 dead skin cells every minute, and the food we eat travels 30 feet on its journey through our bodies. The Living Body takes you beneath the skin to reveal how our bodies evolve from birth to old age, and the amazing biological systems we need to thrive. Embark on an incredible journey tracing the story of one everywoman using milestones to examine the everyday workings of a living, functioning body in ways not seen before. Cutting-edge miniature endoscopic HD cameras delve deep inside the mouth, throat, heart, lungs, digestive tract, brain and reproductive organs to shed new light on how and why our bodies do what they do. Stunning photography reveals universal moments in human development at the most minute level, providing insight into both our own individual metamorphosis and our shared human experiences.
Naked Science • 2015 • Health
The Cholesterol Question is a hard-hitting investigation into the heart of cholesterol’s controversial journey, from essential biological substance to Public Enemy Number One and possible rehab. It’s a villain that’s simple to understand, easy to implicate and, we thought, easy to medicate. But it’s a story almost stranger than fiction. At Stanford University, Dr. Christopher Gardner reveals the debatable science behind our assault on dietary fat and cholesterol – a massive intervention that many believe only made us fatter and sicker.
S54E04 • The Nature of Things • 2014 • Health
Is abortion right, or is it wrong? It's the big question that's lost in a societal debate that's mostly focused on legality. But, really, whether it's right or wrong is the most important question about abortion.
How bad can our drinking pattern be for our health? Doctors and genetically identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken want to find out. With the current drinking guidelines under review, the twins embark on self-experimentation to see the effects of different drinking patterns on their health. With Chris drinking 21 units spread evenly across the week and Xand having his 21 in single weekly binges, how will their bodies differ after a month? Catching up with the latest research into alcohol drinking patterns, we ask if moderate drinking is genuinely good for us - and whether binge drinking is really that bad.