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Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'
The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon's Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I by Lindsey Fitzharris
23 reviews
ptaradactyl's review against another edition
4.25
I enjoyed it, and I learned from it. But it’s not for those who can’t handle body trauma. It wasn’t gratuitous; it was needed to explain the needs for treatment and the scale of the injuries. But it horrific and tragic.
Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Body horror, Death, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Gore
angelofthetardis's review
5.0
First and foremost, this is incredibly well written. It takes the stories of each of the patients and Dr Gillies and treats them with such sensitivity, while also ensuring the reader has the facts and bringing some of the Doctor's personality and even humour into the narrative. Details of injuries are (for the most part) given in layman's terms and well illustrated with her words, while not being too graphic. Likewise, the author doesn't get bogged down in the horrors of warfare; the stories of the Somme and other battles, of the field hospitals and the overwhelming difficulties faced by all are stark and reflect the truth of the matter, but are not overstated. There are a few small moments where she repeats herself, which make it feel like she might have been a couple of hundred words off of the requested word count of the book, but it's such a minor thing it can certainly be overlooked in this case!
I'll admit this is one of the few times I haven't skipped ahead to look at the pictures; I was nervous about what I'd find as I'm reading this of an evening and my brain has ways of keeping me up at night if I see something disturbing. However, as with the narrative, they are incredibly informative without being overtly shocking. I took them as a whole; the before, during and after images showing that patient's journey, and my takeaway wasn't about the debilitating injuries 'before', but rather a deep appreciation of the skill and genius of the surgeon that results in the 'after'. They really serve to bring home what the author is trying to convey.
Dr Gillies himself seems like a man way ahead of his time. The author doesn't hesitate to share the credit for discoveries with his contemporaries where appropriate, but his treatment of his patients, both medically and just on a human level, is incredible. You rejoice with him at his triumphs and lament with him at his losses, marvel at his thought processes and applaud his drive and hard work in the face of never-ending carnage. It's a real shame more people don't know his name!
This book is thought-provoking, insightful and brings to the fore an aspect of history that many more people should appreciate. The only reason I'm not going to rush out and buy it immediately is because it's more of a 'one and done' book, but I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone. It's absolutely worth your time.
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Medical trauma, War, Medical content, Blood, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
drkappitan's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Body horror, Medical trauma, and Medical content
no_u14's review
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, War, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Violence
riddikulus25's review
4.0
Graphic: Death, War, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Violence
mayukiiq's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, War, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Death
jhbandcats's review against another edition
5.0
For soldiers with mangled faces whose fiancées left them or whose children ran away screaming in terror, Dr Gillies was a savior. He suffered many failures as he was learning along the way but they were outstripped by his successes. He went on to perform facial reconstruction in WWII, working in private practice in times of peace. His two books on plastic surgery of the face are still valuable.
Lindsey Fitzharris gives an overview of the wartime medical complex on the Continent and its expansion to England, and shows how Gillies continued to grow his knowledge as he did all he could to return his patients to lives as normal as possible. An excellent medical history.
Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Death
monarchgirl's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Medical trauma, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content
Due to the nature of the book in the accompanying material with this audiobook there are pictures of graphic injuries caused during war.sarahbythebook's review against another edition
5.0
Dr. Harold Gillies would become a leader in the field of facial reconstructive surgery during its infancy under the dark clouds of World War I, and the world as a whole was better for him.
A kind and charismatic doctor, Harold Gillies would work endlessly to restore form and function to his patient's faces, recognizing the psychological impact of a destroyed face. In a very real way, the wounds soldiers received from bullets or shrapnel or civilians from fire and accidents lost their identities when they lost their most recognizable features. He also had a humility all too often lacking from those at the heads of their profession. Gillies recognized when his own knowledge fell short, enlisting the aid of dentists, artists, and many other skilled men and women to bring some amount of peace and confidence to the people whom he served.
His kindness did not end after the war, as author Lindsey Fitzharris demonstrates through the words of those who knew him. Gillies regularly was struggling financially because he hated discussing it with his patients and would provide steep discounts to those who needed his help. Despite the lack of financial gain, Gillies was eventually recognized by the British government for his contributions to the war, but more importantly, he was loved and remembered fondly by those who benefited under his scalpel.
The most moving story that Fitzharris includes doesn't even take place during the war, but after. Gillies' lack of prejudice in helping a trans man medically transition is moving and discredits any theories that everyone was transphobic at the time. He stood by his patient even after he was unwillingly outed. All in all, Harold Gillies seems like a descent human being first and foremost and a brilliant plastic surgeon second.
"The science of healing stood battle with the science of destroying."
The strides that Gillies and the team he assembled made in plastic surgery was brought about from horrible necessity. The First World War was unlike anything anyone in Europe had seen before despite its history of military conflicts.
As a historian, I focused on WWI, and as a teacher, I always tried to stress the importance of this war as the first real scientific war. The world saw chemical warfare, advanced war machinery, and advances in medical sciences at such a rapid pace, it was shocking. While I had focused in the past more on the weapons created, Fitzharris highlights in The Facemaker just one category of medical advances, though there are nods to the development of early psychiatry and the amazing progress made in practices like blood transfusions.
War is a tragedy no matter how it is examined, but Fitzharris does a masterful job showing off the progress that came out of trauma and the advances made possible because of the mass casualties, specifically in facial reconstruction. I'm so glad I read this book despite the fact that I generally don't do well with medical histories. (I'm specifically thinking of The Butchering Art by the same author).
If you have any history in medical histories, war histories, or just plain good and accessible nonfiction, I could not recommend The Facemaker highly enough.
Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Vomit and Ableism
peachani's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, War, Gore, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror and Medical trauma
Minor: Body shaming, Vomit, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts