Surgeon Reveals Life in the O.R.

A Rhode Island surgeon who reveals in a book the life behind the operating room doors will sign copies of his memoir at on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 18.

Dr. Paul Ruggieri wrote “Confessions of a Surgeon: The Good, The Bad, and the Complicated…Life Behind the O.R. Doors.” He will visit the bookstore in the Barrington shopping plaza from 1 to 3:30 pm.

“As an active surgeon and former department chairman, Ruggieri pushes open the doors of the O.R. and reveals the inscrutable place where lives are improved, saved, and sometimes lost,” according to Barrington Books.

“Confessions of a Surgeon” is an eye-opening look at the demands of the operating theater, the politics involved in saving a life, and the stories of the patients that doctors take an oath to protect and heal, according to the bookstore.

Ruggieri shares the successes, failures, remarkable advances, and camaraderie that make surgery exciting.  The book uncovers the truth about the abusive, exhaustive training and the arduous devotion of his old-school education. 

The surgeon also explores the 24-hour challenges that come from patients and their loved ones; the ethics of saving the lives of repugnant criminals; the hot-button issues of healthcare, malpractice lawsuits, and reimbursements; and the true cost of running a private practice.  And he divulges the “white coat code of silence” that prevents a patient from ever learning what really transpires during surgery.

Ultimately, the surgeon lays bare an occupation that to most is as mysterious and unfamiliar as it is misunderstood. 

Visit Ruggieri’s website at www.paulruggieri.com. And read a review of his book on the Barrington Books blog.