Catch up TV

This episode is currently not available.

Series 4: Episode 4



Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge takes on some of the most challenging medical cases in the country. Its surgeons carry out operations that require such expertise, that they are only carried out here and a handful of other centres in the UK.\n\nOne such procedure is a pelvic exenteration, so complicated it requires two surgeons to perform and two days to complete. The surgeons - colorectal consultant Nicola Fearnhead and consultant urologist Alex Colquhoun - only do around 10 of these operations each year, where due to widespread cancer, all the organs in the pelvis need to be removed. It is such a massive, life-changing surgery that about 50% of people who need the procedure for otherwise terminal illness, decide not to have it.\n\nThis time their patient is 52-year-old Stuart, a father of two who has already had treatment for bowel cancer. However, the cancer has returned and the pelvic exenteration is his only chance for a cure. It will involve removing his rectum, bladder, prostate, surrounding lymph nodes as well as a large tumour on his kidney. The surgery is so radical it will leave him with no sexual function and needing two stomas; one for waste from his bowel and the other for urine.\n\nOn the first day of surgery Nicola and Alex concentrate on taking out the disease. They must operate deep within Stuart’s pelvis to separate out the cancer and affected organs from the surrounding tissue and blood vessels. It is high risk surgery because they need to operate near to the body’s biggest blood vessels - the aorta and inferior vena cava - and the major vessels that branch off them. Damaging any of these could cause a major bleed. \n\nBut even if they manage to clear the disease, they still need a second day to reconstruct and create the two stomas. The most difficult to create is for the urine produced by Stuart’s kidneys. Because his bladder will be removed, the drainage tubes from the kidneys – called ureters – need to be re-routed. This involves attaching these fragile tubes to a section of harvested bowel that will act as an outlet tube, which then has to be threaded through the abdominal wall to the surface without any kinks or distortions. Getting this reconstruction right is essential; if in the future urine has trouble leaving his body, Stuart could suffer from kidney failure.\n\nAnother ground breaking operation at Addenbrooke’s involves tackling one of the most serious forms of brain tumour. \n\nThe procedure uses a chemical – only available on the NHS since 2019 - that causes the cancer to glow bright pink under UV light and allows the surgeon to see and remove as much tumour as possible. It is an operation that neurosurgeon Alexis Joannides is performing on 30 -year-old Adam, a manufacturing operative who is expecting his first child with partner Tasha in just a few weeks.\n\nTwo months ago Adam started experiencing severe headaches that would not go away. Five weeks later, an optician’s appointment led to an immediate referral to A&E where doctors discovered the tumour. It turned out to be a glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive type of brain tumour that is life threatening. In order to give Adam the best prognosis, Alexis needs to take out as much as possible. \n\nTo achieve this, Adam will have a pink drink before surgery; a solution that contains the chemical 5 ALA which will cause the tumour cells to fluoresce pink under UV light in the operating theatre. This will allow Alexis to tell the difference between tumour and healthy brain and should assist in removing all the tumour. Research shows that when the pink drink is used, the whole tumour is successfully removed in 70% of cases, up from around 30% when the drink is not used.

Source: BBC 2

Most recent episodes of Surgeons: At the Edge of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 7: 5. The Finest Margins

Series 7: 5. The Finest Margins

In the department of clinical neurosciences at NHS Lothian's Royal Infirmary, surgeons take on complex brain surgery, where millimetres can be the difference between success and ...

26-03-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 7: 4. Rebuild And Renew

Series 7: 4. Rebuild And Renew

At St John’s Hospital in Livingston, consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon Ashley Hay specialises in some of the most challenging cancer cases: removing tumours from the ...

24-03-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 7: 3. All Or Nothing

Series 7: 3. All Or Nothing

At NHS Lothian's Royal Infirmary, consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Renzo Pessotto takes on some of the most challenging cases in his field, and his next patient is no exception ...

17-03-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 7: 2. In The Balance

Series 7: 2. In The Balance

Consultant colorectal surgeon Danielle Collins faces a challenging case at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital. Her patient has an aggressive tumour that has doubled in s ...

10-03-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 7: 1. A Lot To Lose

Series 7: 1. A Lot To Lose

The hospitals of NHS Lothian serve a population of almost a million in Edinburgh and the surrounding area. Surgeons face life-changing and life-enhancing operations that involve ...

03-03-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 6: 6. Make Or Break

Series 6: 6. Make Or Break

The specialists at Southampton work together to treat three patients who are suffering from life- and limb-threatening injuries. \n\nFifty-five-year-old Chris is airlifted to h ...

02-05-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 6: 5. We Can Rebuild You

Series 6: 5. We Can Rebuild You

Consultant cardiac surgeon Amit Modi is faced with the case of 70-year-old grandmother Jeanette, who is in desperate need of surgery, as her aorta - the body’s biggest art ...

24-04-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 6: 4. Hope

Series 6: 4. Hope

As one of the country’s largest hospitals, surgeons at University Hospital Southampton carry out over 34,000 operations every year, many of which are the last hope for the ...

18-04-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 6: 3. The Best Laid Plans

Series 6: 3. The Best Laid Plans

University Hospital Southampton provides care for close to three million people across the south of England every year, treating patients with the most complex surgical needs. \ ...

11-04-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 6: 2. All For One

Series 6: 2. All For One

At University Hospital Southampton, surgeons perform life-saving surgery. Maxillofacial consultant Sanjay Sharma and his colleague Madan 'Ethu' Ethunandan's next case is particu ...

04-04-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Most popular episodes of Surgeons: At the Edge of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 7: 5. The Finest Margins

Series 7: 5. The Finest Margins

In the department of clinical neurosciences at NHS Lothian's Royal Infirmary, surgeons take on complex brain surgery, where millimetres can be the difference between success and ...

26-03-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 7: 4. Rebuild And Renew

Series 7: 4. Rebuild And Renew

At St John’s Hospital in Livingston, consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon Ashley Hay specialises in some of the most challenging cancer cases: removing tumours from the ...

24-03-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 4: Episode 2

Series 4: Episode 2

Cambridge is home to two of the country’s most groundbreaking hospitals - Addenbrooke’s and Royal Papworth, where surgeons take on some of the most challenging medic ...

01-12-2021

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 7: 3. All Or Nothing

Series 7: 3. All Or Nothing

At NHS Lothian's Royal Infirmary, consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Renzo Pessotto takes on some of the most challenging cases in his field, and his next patient is no exception ...

17-03-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 2: 1. One False Move

Series 2: 1. One False Move

Most people will have an operation in their lifetime, but very few of us know what happens once we have been put to sleep. This groundbreaking series returns behind the closed d ...

01-05-2019

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 5: 2. Every Moment Counts

Series 5: 2. Every Moment Counts

Surgeons at Addenbrooke’s Hospital perform brain surgery on a patient who is awake and attempt to repair a section of the body’s biggest blood vessel that’s th ...

31-01-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 5: Episode 3

Series 5: Episode 3

Surgeons at Addenbrooke’s operate against the clock to remove a kidney from a husband and transplant it into his wife, who is in end-stage kidney failure.

07-02-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 6: 6. Make Or Break

Series 6: 6. Make Or Break

The specialists at Southampton work together to treat three patients who are suffering from life- and limb-threatening injuries. \n\nFifty-five-year-old Chris is airlifted to h ...

02-05-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 6: 5. We Can Rebuild You

Series 6: 5. We Can Rebuild You

Consultant cardiac surgeon Amit Modi is faced with the case of 70-year-old grandmother Jeanette, who is in desperate need of surgery, as her aorta - the body’s biggest art ...

24-04-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life

Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life - Series 5: Episode 4

Series 5: Episode 4

Addenbrooke’s surgeons take on two high-risk operations; surgery to excise tumours near the spinal cord and a procedure to remove a dangerous mass off the body’s lar ...

14-02-2023

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

© 2025 - Catchupplayer.co.uk