'We work together to do our utmost for our patients' | Watch episode 3 of Saving Lives in Cardiff on Tuesday   

The third episode of Saving Lives in Cardiff will air on BBC One Wales and BBC Two this Tuesday — lifting the lid on the heart-rending, hard-headed decisions surgeons must make before tackling the day job of changing people’s lives.   

The episode will introduce spinal surgeon Mr Mike McCarthy and 15-year-old Brody who has scoliosis. Mike and his team have treated Brody since he was five and hope to perform his 15th — and final surgery — to straighten his spine.    

However, Brody’s operation can only go ahead if there is a high-dependency bed available, and it has been cancelled four times in the last 18 months. As the only specialist children’s hospital in the country, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales has seen an influx in emergency cases and Brody’s family fear it might happen again.    

Speaking about his involvement in the series, Mike said: “It was a great opportunity to be involved in the series and demonstrate the work we are doing for paediatric scoliosis patients. While we appreciate there is a focus on the length of waiting lists, in paediatric scoliosis we base our prioritisation on curve magnitude — not waiting lists. This is important to ensure we focus our efforts on patients who are most at risk and need treatment urgently.   

“The team have worked exceptionally hard to right-size the paediatric scoliosis service offered to patients and through investment in appropriate resources, we have successfully introduced more theatre capacity and reduced our waiting list.”   

Over at the University Hospital of Wales, the specialist maxillofacial team offers a wide-ranging service for all oral or maxillofacial surgery. In this episode, consultant maxillofacial surgeon Mr Cellan Thomas’ priority is 19-year-old Maham, whose life is on hold after what she thought was a small lump on her face turned out to be a rare and aggressive growth in her jaw.    

Cellan is joined by fellow maxillofacial surgeon Mr Drazsen Vuity and two specialist theatre teams have been assembled for a nine-hour operation that will see half of Maham’s jaw removed before her face is rebuilt using bone and blood vessels taken from her leg.    

Speaking of the episode, Drazsen said: “Being involved in the documentary was an opportunity for us, as a rather small speciality, to highlight the work of the team and what we can deliver for patients as not a lot of people are aware of what we do.”   

Cellan added: “We often work together and operate on dual sites simultaneously; one on the head and neck and the other on the donor site. It is not just about us as consultants, it’s about the entire team, and without this effort, it would prolong the operation and we would not be able to deliver the care we need for our patients and that’s the most important thing.”   

Meanwhile, gynaecological oncology surgeon Ms Aarti Sharma is fighting to give a mother-of-four with incurable cancer more time with her family. All patients with cancer are prioritised for surgery when on the waiting list and one of the most difficult decisions for Aarti’s team is choosing between prioritising patients with treatable cancer and those with a terminal diagnosis, for whom surgery might offer a longer or better quality of life.    

41-year-old Shelley has a diagnosis of terminal abdominal cancer. Shelley – who is also about to marry her partner of 20 years – lost her own mother and auntie to cancer and has done all she can to reduce her risks but sadly, has stage four cancer. Aarti’s hope is that surgery may give Shelley that bit more precious time with her family — however long that may be.   

Aarti commented: “We often meet patients at the toughest time of their lives and empathy and kindness is a fundamental part of what we do. It was important to us to participate in the documentary as it was something the patient wanted to do to share her journey, but it also enabled us to raise awareness of our speciality and what can be done for patients.   

“Within gynaecological oncology, we are a small, close and tightly bound team with everyone from clinical staff to secretarial staff working together to do our utmost for our patients. We are all working incredibly hard, and the documentary is an opportunity to show how much we have to do, and what more there is to be done. 

“Even for people not on a waiting list, they would have a basic understanding of this from the news, but this documentary will help to paint a realistic picture of what is happening in the NHS and what challenges and complexities we face every day.”  

 Watch Saving Lives in Cardiff on Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC One Wales and BBC Two. Missed an episode? Catch up on BBC iPlayer.