From Scalpel to Spade

A Surgeon's Road to Ithaka

Arthur van Langenberg

• Publisher: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9789882372283
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Medicine Biographies

This delightful memoir is the story of a life well lived—a Hong Kong doctor who worked as a surgeon for over fifty years and who later turned his hand to his other great passion, gardening. At times amusing, at times heartbreaking, and at other times educational and instructive, he describes real-life cases and the medical causes of illnesses, including many incredible stories of life-saving operations that will keep you riveted to your seat.Interspersing these chapters are tales from his fascinating personal life, and reflections on his journey to becoming an expert gardener. Throughout the book is woven the metaphor of the author's journey to Ithaka, as described in a moving poem of the same name that charts a path for how to live a life 'full of adventure, full of discovery'. Beautifully written in a lively, engaging style, this book is sure to win the hearts of many, whether they personally knew this respected and well-loved surgeon/gardener, or whether they simply—after reading this book—wish that they knew him.----------Arthur van Langenberg is well known among the gardeners in Hong Kong. However, they may not know how respected a surgeon he is, in particular his caring approach to patients. This book will give them a glimpse of the medical aspect of this seasoned gardener... The real-life stories that he has recorded are so captivating. I am sure that given Arthur's writing skill, he could turn each story into a single volume.— Chow Shew Ping, Professor Emeritus, University of Hong KongThe real-life cases at the scalpel's edge are riveting. Less dramatic but no less engaging are the episodes on what life was like when learning to master the scalpel and developing the clinical sense of when to wield it or not... Senior colleagues will surely recognise the characters in the book, with a smile.— Dr Rose Mak, Chairperson, Management Committee, Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences Society

Table of contents

• Half title page
• Other Works by the Author
• Full title page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Frontisplece
• Contents
• Foreword by Professor Chow Shew Ping
• Foreword by Dr Kwan Po Yuen (in English and Chinese)
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Part I. The World of Medicine
• 1. A Day in the Life of a Surgeon
• 2. What is a Surgeon? A Bit of History
• 3. Medical School
• 4. The Clinical Years
• 5. Call Me Doctor
• 6. Training to be a Surgeon
• 7. Swinging London
• 8. Liverpool
• 9. Murder Most Foul
• 10. Return to Academe
• 11. Emergencies
• 12. Burnout
• 13. Teacher and Students
• Part II. Home and Heritage
• 14. Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
• 15. The World of Books
• 16. Heritage, Language and Identity
• 17. Fusion Food: The Ties that Bind
• 18. Our Furry Friends
• 19. The Sea, the Sea
• 20. A Tree Grows in Shouson Hill
• Part III. Doctors and Patients
• 21. Private Practice
• 22. Limitations in Private Practice
• 23. The Canossian Sisters and Their Hospital
• 24. The Reluctant Superintendent
• 25. The Archbishop
• 26. The Consul
• 27. Ho Mui the Fisherwoman
• 28. Russia: In Search of a New Stapler
• 29. Sidewalk Consultations and Good Samaritans
• 30. Doctors as Patients
• 31. Relatives and Friends
• 33. The Unkindest Cut of All
• 34. A Personal Crisis
• 35. Everybody’s Little Problem
• 36. Variations on a Theme of Identity
• 37. The Surgeon as Counsellor
• 38. Diet and Wellness
• 39. The Writing Bug Bites
• 40. From Scalpel to Spade
• 41. The Medical Museum Garden
• 42. The Surgeon/Gardener Link
• 43. Identity Revealed
• 44. Nature’s Cycle
• 45. Responsible Living
• 46. A Day in the Life of a Gardener
• Appendix: Sartorial Considerations for the Gardener