Last Night in the OR: A Transplant Surgeon's Odyssey

I am not a literary critic however i have been a nurse for over 40 years and I have worked with Dr. Shaw for over 30 of those years. From a healthcare prospective, when I read the patient stories , Bud makes it feel like you are IN the story. They are very realistice and meaningful narratives about what we live through and with on a daily basis. I find it very interesting how he interspersed his personal life stories with those stories in his hospital/work life. For those of us who spent hours working with Bud we had little idea of his personal struggles - we didn't see that in the OR or on rounds or in our day to day work. For those critics who think Bud might be "egotistical" I would say it takes some ego/self confidence to care for critically ill patients and fight every day to make them better. There are not many transplant surgeons in this country or world who are as smart and thoughtful as Bud. IF there was a struggle or problem - you would want BUd in the OR with you. He is creative, smart, thinks on his feet and is all about the patient and family. We all know that medicine/surgery cannot "fix" everyone, and on the cutting edge of transplant, Bud did everything he could to help patients/families and advance the science of transplantation. He was involved with teaching multitudes of future transplant surgeons and physicians. I didn't know Bud when he met Ellen and her family, however I have witnessed him in countless situations where things are not going well and he was incredibly kind, thoughtful and compassionate. At the reunions no one knew about his hesitations or anxieties. The patients and families ALL wanted to have his ear for just a moment to thank him for all he did and that was a lot of people. Bottom line - he is a human like each and every one of us. For those who want to cast stone I would ask you to try to walk in his shoes for just one moment and remeber - he is one fine, talented incredible human being.

I was really looking forward to this book as our family has a personal history with Dr. Shaw. To say that I was disappointed in what was shared, would be a gross understatement. I get that the life of someone pioneering in the medical field and living to tell about it is nothing short of miraculous. However, I personally felt there were plenty of things that could have been included to take the place of the things that should have been left out. Where the book shattered the pedestal I had put Dr. Shaw upon was one simple phase - "I desperately wanted to f&*k my wife." I got the message loud and clear a few paragraphs or pages before, that he had marital problems - this phrase was completely unnecessary. I am not a prude, quite the contrary, but it was the kind of thing a 17-year old says, not a grown, highly respected surgeon, at least not publicly. This was followed up with how he then cheated on said wife and then left her. Yes, I know, it happens. The most egregious area of the book though, were his comments on his attendance, or lack thereof, at the annual transplant reunions. Being the family member of a former patient, this is something that is as looked forward to as Christmas. To dismiss it so callously, when you are probably the main reason people look forward to going, probably not a good idea to write it off so publicly. I do understand what the reunions came to mean to him, but sometimes I feel like you just have to suck it up and do it. Surgeons aren't known to be warm and fuzzy, most people who have had any type of surgery probably already know that. BUT a transplant is something completely different. It is life changing, and like it or not, that surgeon, as well as the rest of the healthcare team that took care of that patient, are Gods in the eyes of the patient and their family members (most of the time, anyway). This book showed the other side, and not in a good way. So, I say to any former patients or their family members, if you feel love for Dr. Shaw, and don't want to shatter the illusion, leave this book alone.

I really enjoyed the book. Having worked in transplantation from the immunosuppression side, I had several opportunities to hear Dr.Shaw speak both in formal and informal settings. He always fascinated and impressed me - both his reputation as a surgeon as well as his being (in my opinion) a true "Renaissance man." My impression was (and remains) that he was completely committed to liver transplant surgery and improving transplant outcomes. When I received it (from Amazon!), my wife snagged it and read it first, she kept saying "you're going to love this" and "this is not going to be what you think." She was right.I found the literary style a pleasant surprise, it was written as a sort of random collection of memories more than a linear memoir. I also found his utter transparency a surprise, sometimes pleasantly and sometimes unpleasantly. Regardless, it made for great reading. I respect him all the more for sharing his unique and very personal perspectives on all the incidents and subject matter presented.I would have enjoyed reading a more linear memoir/autobiography as well, but that's not what this is. And that's not a bad thing. Great book.

I bought this book wanting to read about transplant stories of human organs but it is story of the doctors ordinary life.I ditched the book afer reading 10 pages.

Great book!!!!