"Small: Life and Death on the Front Lines of Pediatric Surgery" by Catherine Musemeche, M.D. *****

• Early Reviewer edition for LibraryThing.com
• Non-Fiction
• US author
• Originally published 2014
• Epigraph:
• "conch
  
  Hold a baby to your ear, As you would a shell: Sounds of centuries you hear, New centuries foretell.
  Who can break a baby's code? And which is the older--, The listener or his small load? The held or the holder?"
  
  ---E.B.White
• Quotes:
• p.3..."There is no such thing as a routine operation in a baby."
• p.66..."Whether a patient's demise is predictable, expected, or unavoidable, losing a patient is personal to a surgeon.  He has reached inside his patient's body, manipulated those human organs, and made changes that last a lifetime.  Surgeon and patient are forever linked by the outcome of such an intimate endeavor: both of them must live with the consequences."
• p.68..."Adult human lungs measure ten to fourteen inches in height and four to six inches across, about the size of a baseball glove.  Within the two spongy masses are a total of 300 to 500 million alveoli within 750 square feet of compressed surface area, the size of one side of a tennis court."....Absolutely amazing!
• Review:  From the perspective a a lay person who has long been fascinated by all things medical, this was an absolutely fascinating read.  I have taken for granted the notion of the existence of such a thing as a pediatric surgeon, yet had no idea that it is a relatively recent development, in fact, still coming into it's own.  The book presents case studies which in and of themselves are amazing, but the cases serve as the platform to the truly engrossing brief history of pediatric surgery, the differences between a child's body and an adult's (significantly more than just size}, the hurdles in the way of creating instruments and devices for use in these tiny bodies, the ethics and politics in this field of endeavor, and above all, the heroic ingenuity, courage, and determination of the innovators in this field.  This is a book which is definitely accessible to the lay person and it is also a riveting education for anyone who is interested in the medical aspects of fetuses, preemies, and children in general.  Excellent read!