Counting Backwards

July 1, 2017

Przybylo (anesthesiology, Northwestern Univ.) offers a stirring account of his 30-year career as an anesthesiologist. He tells tales of the first person he ever anesthetized, his experience of working on a baby gorilla, and the time he wasn't allowed to perform anesthesiology on his own son, all interspersed with the history of anesthesiology and the trials and tribulations its early practitioners encountered. Przybylo also goes through his daily process of administering anesthesia and gives amusing and heartfelt anecdotes of his successes and failures. His passion for his work is felt through his stories, and while his admitted quest for absolute perfection may come off as arrogant to some, Przybylo ultimately allows readers a rare peek into the world of one of the more underrated and mysterious procedures in modern medicine. VERDICT Medical students will appreciate Przybylo's enthusiasm, and casual readers will find his description of his line of work engaging and educational. A solid addition to any nonfiction shelf.--Tyler Hixson, Brooklyn P. L.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 21, 2017
Przybylo, associate professor of anesthesiology at Northwestern University School of Medicine, weaves an enjoyable narrative out of personal anecdotes from the wealth of experience he has gained over more than 30 years in a field that’s “ubiquitous but largely invisible.” He displays an ever-fresh wonder at and faith in “the gas” that makes invasive medical procedures possible, as well as a determined drive for perfection: “I am striving for pinpoint skill,” he writes. Przybylo meticulously cares for patients and their families, who often don’t meet “Dr. Jay” until they’re on their way to the operating room. He recounts an array of stories, including that of an impish four-year-old whose preoperation snack nearly caused disaster and a lifesaving operation he performed on a baby gorilla. After observing a young patient’s hospital agony during a life-altering trip to China, Przybylo says he defined his goal: “to wipe away all pain.” Przybylo exalts in his triumphs and learns from his mistakes, taking none of it for granted. He ponders how future generations may judge his field: “Will they view my career as barbaric, as I view the barber-surgeons of the nineteenth century?” Przybylo offers a rare and thoughtful look behind the scenes of this crucial yet arcane specialization.

September 1, 2017
A veteran anesthesiologist probes the origins and mysteries of medically induced unconsciousness.Przybylo (Anesthesiology/Northwestern Univ. School of Medicine) shares anecdotes and personal impressions of his career, during which he has "administered anesthesia more than thirty thousand times." Specializing in the pediatric arena of his field, the author cares for more than 1,000 children in an average year, and he offers profiles of many of them in this vividly written, candid exploration. In many ways, Przybylo considers himself a faith healer since so many patients and their families put their trust in his expertise with the drugs he administers. He retraces the curious history of how painless surgeries were eventually achieved in the 1800s through the meticulously measured inhalation of ether, though the process itself was considered sacrilegious at the time. A compassionate, patient caregiver, the author describes how he empathizes with (and medically alleviates) his young patients' anxiety, fear, and confusion. The author discusses his lengthy tenure in medicine, which molded him into a highly controlled professional "always searching for ways to improve my care." Przybylo is also honest enough to include the medical blunders he has experienced during his career, and he provides a personalized walk-through that intriguingly describes the highly specialized equipment he uses, the "Five A's" of his comprehensive care, and why an empty stomach is essential to anesthesia success. Several of the cases he recalls embody the "dark side of medicine," but they are striking in content and quite moving. They include a high school sophomore basketball player who must endure a heart transplant and, surprisingly, a lethargic 2-year-old gorilla with a life-threatening infection. What may particularly resonate with readers, however, is the pharmaceutical gray area that still confounds Przybylo and the industry at large, as he admits to being "no closer to explaining the mechanism by which the gas I provide anesthetizes." A fascinating tour of a mystifying, unnerving, yet precious medical necessity.

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.