Surgeons: A Matter of Life or Death

It's judgement day for 66-year-old Patsy who has been walking around with a ticking time bomb in her chest. Diagnosed with a massive aneurysm in her aorta – the vessel which carries all the blood away from her heart - the aorta is so swollen it's in danger of bursting, which would kill her in seconds.

Surgeon Jorge Mascaro must stop her heart beating, drop her body temperature to 22 degrees and divert all of Patsy's blood supply to a by-pass machine. In a woman half her age, the procedure would carry risk. But given Patsy's advanced years, the threat of stroke and death is huge.

Across the hospital, time is also of the essence for 80-year-old Sue, who having previously battled breast cancer, has now been diagnosed with angiosarcoma - a highly aggressive secondary cancer.

It's a difficult procedure - involving the removal of Sue's breast and chest wall and the reconstruction of the area using skin grafts from her back. And this time, there's an added problem.

When surgeons Rob Warner and Salina Bains get Sue onto the operating table, they make a grim discovery. The cancer has progressed incredibly fast since they last saw it. Now the only option is to remove an even larger area from Sue's chest – which means that she may not have enough available tissue on her back to close the wound.

Finally, it's D-Day for Andrew who has been living with a tumour which is slowly wrapping itself around a crucial nerve in his face. ENT surgeon Richard Irving previously operated 15 years ago, but now it's growing back and Andrew faces a tough decision. The operation carries a significant risk of facial paralysis. But without it, Andrew will almost certainly lose his ability to smile, blink and talk.