This episode of Saving Lives takes us to University Hospital Llandough, where we meet health worker Michaela, a patient in the breast centre. Clinical lead Eleri Davies has been treating Michaela for almost a decade, and she’s about to undergo her third life-saving operation. Michaela had a double mastectomy but is among the ten per cent of women with breast cancer who experience a recurrence. Knowing the urgency of Michaela’s situation, Eleri prioritises her for surgery.
The orthopaedic department at the same hospital is facing a daunting challenge, with more than 4,000 patients on the waiting list for surgery, nearly a quarter of whom require hip replacements. Among them is 68-year-old retired water inspector and grandfather, Garry, who has been waiting for a new hip for over two years.
Orthopaedic consultant Phil Thomas has never seen such a lengthy waitlist, exacerbated by an ageing population and the impact of Covid. He is concerned that Garry’s surgery may be complicated if his arthritis has progressed during the wait.
Meanwhile, at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, ear, nose, and throat consultant Stuart Quine prepares for a high-risk operation on mum-of-three Sharon. She has a rare benign tumour in her neck, dangerously close to the carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain.
Saving Lives Season 2 Episode 6 airs Tuesday, 24 September 2024, at 9:00 pm on BBC Two.
