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The heart of a heart surgeon

Stephen Westaby has operated on 12,000 hearts

Heart surgeon Stephen Westaby has saved thousands of patients throughout his 40 year career but it’s the deaths that stick with him. As a teenager he was smart but felt he wasn't bold enough to make the split-second life and death decisions required of a surgeon. It wasn’t until medical school when a rugby accident damaged the part of his brain that controls inhibition and risk-taking, that Professor Westaby overcame his shyness. He would become famous for complex paediatric surgeries and would pioneer the use of a small artificial heart. (Photo courtesy of Stephen Westaby.)

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23 minutes

Podcast