Surgeons: At the Edge of Life

In the first episode, specialist maxillofacial surgeons Tim Martin and Sat Parmar prepare for a marathon operation on 53-year-old Teresa. Four weeks ago, Teresa was diagnosed with a fast-growing cancerous tumour in her face and she will die within weeks unless it is removed. The procedure involves radical surgery to the entire right-hand side of her face, and means she will lose both her upper jaw and right eye. It is an enormous undertaking for Teresa, and for Tim and Sat, too.

The second episode follows some of the country's most daring and skilled surgeons as they perform fiendishly complicated life-saving surgery. Going beyond the theatre doors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, this episode features two procedures so formidable, they would not have been attempted even a few years ago. Surgical teams at the Queen Elizabeth are constantly pushing the limits of what is possible. But despite state-of-the-art diagnostic scanning, sometimes cancer surgeons don't know exactly what they are up against until they open the patient up on the operating table. Even with the most meticulous planning, sometimes they must resort to taking critical decisions live in the theatre.

Documentary series which uncovers the powerful human stories at the cutting edge of Irish medicine, looking at both the practitioners, and the patients that go under their knives.

Cameras return to the operating theatres of Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and reveal what goes on during procedures that test the limits of what is possible.

Maxillofacial surgeon Tim Martin operates on a woman with a disease so rare, he is thought to be the first in the UK to attempt the procedure.

Surgeons at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital carry out radical operations to help change patients' lives, including the hospital's largest ever removal of excess tissue.

At Birmingham Children's Hospital, surgeons must transplant a kidney from a father to his two-year-old son, while a three-year-old girl needs a life-changing heart procedure.

A surgeon performs the most complex operation in his field: removing a woman's oesophagus and using her own stomach to replace it. Another team tackles a hard-to-reach tumour.

Surgeons take on major trauma operations at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital. They have just minutes to save a woman with a life-threatening bleed on her brain.

The award-winning series returns to show more pioneering work from some of the UK's top surgeons. A patient's body is drained of blood to remove life-threatening clots in her lungs.

Following marathon procedures at Addenbrooke's and Royal Papworth hospitals in Cambridge. Two surgeons and a team of 25 work for 18 hours to salvage a high-risk procedure.

Surgeons at Royal Papworth and Addenbrooke's hospitals perform a high-risk double lung transplant and complex neurosurgery, where a slip of a scalpel could cause paralysis.

Surgeons at Addenbrooke's and Royal Papworth hospitals face a dilemma. Do the high risks of an operation outweigh the risk of not treating their patients' serious conditions?

Operations where even a small mistake is catastrophic. Surgeons at Addenbrooke's and Royal Papworth hospitals remove a life-threatening tumour and repair a young patient's aorta.

Surgeons at Addenbrooke's and Royal Papworth take on a high-risk spine procedure and perform open heart surgery on an 80-year-old patient.

Surgeons at Royal Papworth and Addenbrooke's hospitals must put their patients back together again after removing life-threatening tumours from their lung and face.

Surgeons at Addenbrooke's Hospital take on life changing surgery that takes two specialist surgeons two days to perform and involves removing all the organs in the patient's pelvis.

Surgeons at Addenbrooke's Hospital perform a complex procedure to help a patient swallow again and remove a tumour that is threatening a patient's vision.

Addenbrooke's major trauma team and surgeons treat some of the country's most critically injured patients. Multiple teams must decide whether a man's damaged arm can be saved.

The specialists at Addenbrooke's work against the clock to treat three patients who are suffering from life and limb-threatening injuries.A critically injured motorcyclist is rushed to hospital after crashing his motorcycle into a fixed metal gate; a single mum of four has sustained severe spinal injuries after a car accident; and a 72-year-old woman has sustained a bad open fracture after falling off the steps of her caravan.

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 threatening to burst.

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.

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 largest vein.

Addenbrooke's surgeons perform life changing scoliosis surgery to straighten the spine of their 17-year-old patient but face the risk of causing paralysis.

Surgeons at Addenbrooke's Major Trauma Centre must operate on two road accident victims who have suffered life-changing injuries so serious they could lead to an amputation.

Surgeons at University Hospital Southampton take on high-risk surgery to remove life-threatening tumours.

At University Hospital Southampton, surgeons perform lifesaving surgery: taking out a patient's eye and the tumour behind it and removing an 83-year-old man's cancerous bladder.

Surgeons at University Hospital Southampton operating on two patients - removing rare tumours and correcting a patient's bowed legs - must alter their plans to avoid catastrophe.

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 patients.Maxillofacial consultant Sanjay Sharma is one consultant who takes on some of the most challenging cases involving the face, jaw, and mouth. Sixty-seven-year-old Sue, a longstanding patient of Sanjay's, faces a crumbling jaw - leading to infection and loss of function - following an earlier operation to remove cancer. Now, Sanjay faces the demanding task of rebuilding Sue's jaw once again. But when problems develop with her blood flow, Sue's reconstruction hangs in the balance.Meanwhile, gastrointestinal surgery specialist Tim Underwood must perform an oesophagectomy for his patient, 67-year-old Monique, as she has advanced cancer in her oesophagus, or swallowing tube. To potentially cure Monique, Tim will need to remove the cancerous section of her oesophagus and then repurpose her stomach to create a new swallowing tube. But taking out the oesophagus is not straightforward.

Cardiac surgeon Amit Modi takes on the case of 70-year-old grandmother Jeanette, who has a diseased aorta (the body's largest artery) which is threatening to rupture. A highly complex surgery is needed to save her life. Meanwhile, spinal surgeons Chris Dare and Steve McGillion's patient has conditions so challenging they need to operate for over 20 hours across two days to try to give him a better quality of life.

Three surgeons operate together on a motorcyclist at University Hospital Southampton's major trauma centre after a crash leaves the patient with life-changing injuries.

Surgeons attempt a rare and high-risk transplant to transform their 21-year-old patient's life and perform a complex kidney procedure vital for another patient's survival.

Surgeons battle to save a patient with an aggressive tumour and a patient whose aorta – the body's biggest artery – could rupture at any moment.

Surgeons at NHS Lothian perform high-risk surgery to repair a failing heart and take extreme measures to prevent the return of breast cancer in a young patient.

Surgeons attempt to save a patient's life, and her ability to smile, by removing a tumour in her cheek and reconstructing her facial nerve.

Surgeons at NHS Lothian remove a recurring brain tumour from a 25-year-old patient and attempt a rare ‘off pump' cardiac procedure on a man with severe coronary disease.

Doctors at NHS Lothian perform high-risk surgery to save their patient's sight, and three specialists work together to treat a complex case of advanced ovarian cancer.

One patient's rare penis cancer requires a partial amputation, and another patient with severe endometriosis must have a huge cyst and a damaged kidney removed.

Surgeons face a difficult dilemma in the middle of a life-saving bile duct cancer operation. A chest sarcoma proves more challenging than expected, with no room for error.