Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery

2008 Ended BBC Four

Medical History

Today, astonishing surgical breakthroughs are making face transplants, limb transplants and a host of other previously undreamed of operations possible. But getting here has not been a simple story of selfless men working tirelessly in the pursuit of medical advancement. Instead it's a bloodstained tale of blunders, arrogance, mishap and murder. In trying to keep us alive, surgeons have all too often killed us off, and life-saving solutions have often come from the most surprising places. Blood and Guts is an incredible story of stolen corpses, medical fraud, lobotomized patients – and every now and then courageous advances that have saved the lives of millions around the world. You may think twice before going under the knife…