--- product_id: 10815124 title: "Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science Hardcover – April 4, 2002" brand: "atul gawande" price: "฿2640" currency: THB in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/10815124-complications-a-surgeons-notes-on-an-imperfect-science-hardcover-april store_origin: TH region: Thailand --- # Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science Hardcover – April 4, 2002 **Brand:** atul gawande **Price:** ฿2640 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science Hardcover – April 4, 2002 by atul gawande - **How much does it cost?** ฿2640 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.th](https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/10815124-complications-a-surgeons-notes-on-an-imperfect-science-hardcover-april) ## Best For - atul gawande enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted atul gawande brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science Hardcover – April 4, 2002 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31OXUqxPdYL.jpg) ![Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science Hardcover – April 4, 2002 - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41D8kntwl4L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Soldiering on despite uncertainty *by T***N on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 11, 2023* Recommended for anyone considering a medical career, or has had a medical career, or who has need of a medical professional.Uncertainty, fallibility, bad luck are uncomfortable things to think about, especially when you’re standing over a person’s open neck with a pulsating tumor between the internal and external carotid arteries staring back at you. On the other hand if you don’t know in your bones that you’re the best person with the right skills to be there, then you’ve got no business being there.This book is about the inevitable (and apparently irresoluble) conflict between the imperfection in our knowledge and judgement, and the requirement that we as medical professionals always be perfect, and the consequences of that conflict.A lot of fun bringing back memories of different versions of the same patients, and of taking a momentary rest on the roof of Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center and humming “Gethsemane” from Jesus Christ Superstar in the dark: “I’m not as sure as when we started. Then I was inspired; now I’m sad and tired… After all I’ve tried for three years, seems like thirty, seems like ninety.” But it’s all worth it. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Compelling non-fiction?? Yes *by L***K on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 28, 2023* How many non-fiction books have you read which you would describe as “hard to put down?” Describing a work of fiction as such is high praise. Non-fiction? It is a unique thing to write and indeed high praise. “Complications” is hard to stop reading.I appreciate Gawande’s attempts at candor, exposé (which it is not not but approaches), and balance. I appreciate his efforts to provide generalized / generalizable insights, illustrated by poignant anecdotes; and, I appreciate reading his point of view about those aspects of care which defy generalization.All writing has bias. It is inherent even if accepted conventions are followed flawlessly. It is therefore well to acknowledge that statements made in this book are also subject to error; and it is well to illustrate at least one specific instance. The author has written (page 249 of the Kindle edition),“His [Jack Wennberg’s] research has shown, for example, that the likelihood of a doctor sending you for a gallbladder-removal operation varies 270 percent depending on what city you live in; for a hip replacement, 450 percent; for care in an intensive care unit during the last six months of your life, 880 percent. A patient in Santa Barbara, California, is five times more likely to be recommended back surgery for a back pain than one in Bronx, New York. This is, in the main, uncertainty at work, with the varying experience, habits, and intuitions of individual doctors leading to massively different care for people.”The last sentence is inaccurate. Publications available at DartmouthAtlas.org, demonstrate that availability is a statistically significant factor in explaining much of the variation in surgical utilization from region to region. In other words, where surgery centers exist, surgeries which that center specializes in will indeed be done disproportionate to optimal care or even need. Stated more harshly, surgeons get paid to do surgeries.One cannot rule out financial incentive as a reason for the observed phenomenon. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The human side of doctoring *by A***J on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 27, 2012* This book was a fascinating look into the modern doctors world. It is a job more defined by statistics than in the past, but personality and experience still play a great part. I really enjoyed reading this doctor/author's book book on Checklists and their usage in medicine so I was not disappointed with his more random thoughts on doctoring in general.Some of it is quite unsettling as in the case of surgery and interns learning. You hate to be a learning experience when your life is at stake, but how else do interns learn? Still...most doctors insist that their loved ones, are not part of this experience. Doesn't seem really fair; does it?Doctors like everyone else do better with practice, and this is well demonstrated with these specialized practices that only do Hernia operations. It also makes it possible for robots and computers to be quite effective at simple procedures. However that gives me pause. Here the blue screen of death might have greater implications than a reboot.I liked the fact where he dealt with some of his mistakes and diagnoses of patients and how there was a struggle of procedure and how to approach things. One person was nearly harmed by a minor oversight and another person was saved with a hunch. Given that both of these areas (oversights and hunches) are in the gray areas of human cognition it shows how much luck plays a factor, or a sixth sense, that doctors with experience start to develop.A quick synopsis of what this book includes:INTRODUCTIONFALLABILITY*Education of a knife: How interns are trained in surgery. Odds are, you are their training.*The computer and the hernia factory: Repetition = perfection and efficiency*When doctors make mistakes: How mistakes happen. Like all of us they are human, but unlike all of us the ramifications are greater.*Nine Thousand Surgeons: Conferences provide an opportunity to compare notes and keep up to date.*When Good doctors go Bad: Peer review is necessary but whistle blowing on a colleague is rare. Not surprising there are remediation schools, but few and far between. Important note, if some doctors push you away from others...take note.MYSTERYFull Moon/Friday the 13th: Is there any truth to this. Statistically no, but the jury is still out.The pain perplex: Pain stumps most doctors as how and why it exists is not clear cut.There is no test for pain.A queasy feeling: Nausea is not one symptom, nor does it have a single cause and can be very difficult to treat.Crimson tide: Blushing, for some it undermines their confidence, but is it only cosmetic?The man who couldn't stop eating: Overeating is a life altering issue and surgery to address this is gaining ground as in the case of the morbidly obese, it works.UNCERTAINTY*Final Cut: Autopsy is not done as much any more unless there is a mystery surrounding the death. However, it helps educate doctors as to the accuracy of their diagnoses. Unfortunately to many it is a violation of the dead, who will gain nothing in return.*The dead baby mystery: Sometimes the answers are obvious*Whose body is is anyway: Doctors these days advise, not dictate and patients struggle to make the right choices. *Doctors have to let patients make bad choices despite their objections.*The case of the red leg: Gut feeling are sometimes all you have and often they are dead on. In the absence of this all that is left is statistics.SUMMARYThis book was interesting, as it was a mix of topics. Some associated with specific symptoms like pain, blushing and nausea. Others associated with medical errors, bad doctors, cases that were swayed by errors and hunches. If you have any interest in medicine, but not the background, these are great books to read, as you get the human side of it, rather than the scientific. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/10815124-complications-a-surgeons-notes-on-an-imperfect-science-hardcover-april](https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/10815124-complications-a-surgeons-notes-on-an-imperfect-science-hardcover-april) --- *Product available on Desertcart Thailand* *Store origin: TH* *Last updated: 2026-04-29*