Henry Marsh Quotes & Sayings

But death is not always a bad outcome, you know, and a quick death can be better than a slow one. — Henry Marsh

Anxiety might be contagious, but confidence is also contagious — Henry Marsh

The idea that my sucker is moving through thought itself, through emotion and reason, that memories, dreams and reflections should consist of jelly, is simply too strange to understand. — Henry Marsh

Angor animi - the sense of being in the act of dying, differing from the fear of death or the desire for death. — Henry Marsh

We have achieved most as surgeons when our patients recover completely and forget us completely. All patients are immensely grateful at first after a successful operation but if the gratitude persists it usually means that they have not been cured of the underlying problem and that they fear that they may need us in the future. They feel that they must placate us, as though we were angry gods or at least the agents of an unpredictable fate. — Henry Marsh

We lauhed together for a long time. When we
had first met, her eyes were dull with pain-killing drugs and if she
tried to talk, her face would controt with agonizing pain. I thought
how radiantly beautiful she now looked. She stood up to leave and went
to the door but then came back and kissed me.
'I hope I never see you again,' she said.
'I quite understand,' I replied. — Henry Marsh

CSF used to be called "gin-clear" when there was no blood or infection in it,' I say to Jeff. 'But probably we're now supposed to use alcohol-free terminology.' I — Henry Marsh

When I tell a patient that I think I should do their operation under local anaesthetic they usually look a little shocked. In fact the brain cannot itself feel pain since pain is a phenomenon produced within the brain. — Henry Marsh

My readiness to admit to my fallibility is perhaps rather English, but I hope that the problems I describe will be familiar to doctors and patients everywhere. — Henry Marsh

Some of my operations are great triumphs and tremendous. But they're only triumphs because there are also disasters — Henry Marsh

How are you feeling?' I asked. 'Fine,' he replied with a tired smile. 'Well done!' I replied, as I think patients need to be congratulated for their surviving just as much as the surgeons should be congratulated for doing their job well. 'It's — Henry Marsh

Hope is beyond price and the pharmaceutical companies, which are run by businessmen not altruists, price their products accordingly. — Henry Marsh

Next morning I showed her brain scan to the juniors at — Henry Marsh

But I then thought of how the value of my work as a doctor is measured solely in the value of other people's lives, and that included the people in front of me in the check-out queue. — Henry Marsh

The operating is the easy part, you know,' he said. 'By my age you realize that the difficulties are all to do with the decision-making. — Henry Marsh

When push comes to shove we can afford to lose an arm or a leg, but I am operating on peoples thoughts and feelings... and if something goes wrong I can destroy that persons character... forever. — Henry Marsh

Doctors need to be held accountable, since power corrupts. There must be complaints procedures and litigation, commissions of enquiry, punishment and compensation. At the same time if you do not hide or deny any mistakes when things go wrong, and if your patients and their families know that you are distressed by whatever happened, you might, if you are lucky, receive the precious gift of forgiveness. — Henry Marsh

Life without hope is hopelessly difficult but at the end hope can so easily make fools of us all. — Henry Marsh