Two Hundred Years of Surgery

As World War II ends, a 20 year odyssey begins for brothers Rudy and Tom Jordache. Two brothers couldn't be more opposite as they compete for the attention of their bitter, embattled immigrant parents. Rudy is hard at work at the family bakery trying to figure a way to pay for college, while Tom gets caught in pranks and fights. As Rudy prepares for graduation from high school, events begin to set each on a path of his own. It's the beginning of an unforgettable tale of two destinies that although quite different, can never be separated.

Now a teenager, Titus rebels against the strict traditions of Gormenghast as he begins to explore the world outside the walls.

A young rent boy known to Harry has been found murdered. Chopped up in a suitcase and dumped in the countryside. The old bill have concluded their investiagtions without arrest, and seem to be being all to careful to steer clear of the case. Harry isn't happy. This was one of his friends, and it won't go away unanswered. Harry enlists the help of Jimmy, a lairy low life drug dealer, to help him find out the truth.

Cardiac surgery is the most recently developed of all surgical fields, and had not even been performed 70 years ago. Doctors generally have two preconditions for surgery: the organ being operated on must be still, and the surgical field must be clear and bloodless. Operating on the heart goes directly against these principles. It seemed an impossible task, until an idea initially dismissed as fanciful brought a glimmer of hope.

Organ transplants prolong human life, and are considered the greatest medical wonder of the 20th century. But as the field develops, it has raised greater technical and ethical questions. It is a field that continues to bring hope to those in despair. By taking a closer look at the most typical cases in the field, such as parental liver transplantation, hand transplantation and face transplantation, this episode shows how surgeons have worked to build a bridge between life and death through meticulous thinking and extraordinary imagination.

Today, surgery can deal with almost any disease. But there is one that continues to frustrate it - cancer. Humans have fought this silent nemesis for over 4,000 years, but have yet to claim victory against it. Chemotherapy, targeted drugs, and the latest CAR T-cell Therapy can only delay the arrival of death. What options are left for doctors when death is inevitable? This episode looks at another side of medicine brought out by the particular deadly nature of cancer.