Novedades

For years, they came in on weekends to plan and practice—nearly sixty surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists, preparing to harmonize in a vast medical symphony. For the team at Mayo Clinic, it was their most complex surgery to date: a face transplant. At the heart of this event was Andy Sandness. He grappled with feelings of isolation and shame after a disfiguring suicide attempt but was determined to reclaim his future, to be seen as ordinary, and to belong again.

It takes forever to get to the trauma unit. First the stairs, then a long corridor at the end of which is the ER, by which time I am almost out of breath. We keep running until we're finally there. On the bed is a young woman, unconscious and breathing heavily, and I immediately observe a huge hematoma on her left abdomen and car-tire marks on her legs. In TV shows, trauma unit activity looks so efficient, the medical staff ready and waiting with a syringe and defibrillator in hand. But in reality, there is total chaos. With raw candidness, Dr. Yael Dreznik takes off her gloves and walks us...