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Henry Marsh was one of Britain’s top brain surgeons, operating on thousands of patients over a 40-year career. After retiring, Henry received his own life-threatening diagnosis – advanced prostate cancer. This shift from being an all-powerful brain surgeon to becoming a vulnerable patient has given Henry a new perspective on the profession he devoted his life to. He can no longer remember any of the patients whose lives he saved by operating on their brains but only remembers the operations which went badly wrong. Now, as he awaits his own medical results, Henry is returning to the past, trying to discover the lessons that can be learnt from a lifetime dedicated to neurosurgery. Meeting the families of the patients who died in his care, as well as exploring the impact his work had on those closest to him, Henry reveals the huge emotional and personal challenges of a job where every day came with life-and-death decisions.
Having pioneered a controversial technique to remove tumours from patients’ brains whilst they were still awake, and been celebrated as the lead neurosurgeon at the Atkinson Morley Hospital in south London, Henry admits how easy it was to become arrogant as a brain surgeon. Looking back, he can see there were times when he thought he was a surgical ‘superhero’ but now stresses the importance of recognising and sharing your own mistakes. Sorting through the diaries he has kept his whole life for the first time, Henry can see the huge impact brain surgery had on him, often working relentlessly long hours and spending his free time on call for his patients. Henry meets with his ex-wife Hillary to talk for the first time about the impact his career had on their marriage and divorce. He gains new insight from former colleagues into key surgeries he conducted throughout his career as well as operations that have stayed with him for decades, and after a chance encounter, he comes face to face with the mother of a young child who died in Henry’s care 20 years ago. She confesses to not being able to forgive Henry and feeling hate for him ever since she lost her son. Now, Henry speaks to her for the first time.
Featuring unseen personal archive material from throughout Henry’s life and career, this film also sees Henry travelling around the world to talk to the next generation of surgeons, who Henry hopes he can help by being honest about his own experiences. Having previously visited and worked in Ukraine over many years, he travels back to the country to deliver surgical equipment, avoiding air raids at the height of the conflict to pick up his surgeon’s scalpel once more. Reflecting on the impact that operating on so many children has had on him, we discover how Henry’s own son’s brain tumour influenced his decision to devote his life to neurosurgery. Despite feeling that his choice of career meant he was often an absent father, he now dedicates much of his time to being a grandparent and reflects on what it feels like to face your own death with his second wife, Kate.
This heartwarming portrait of an eccentric surgical hero facing the end of his life reveals the truth about brain surgery and its human impact, with devastating emotional power and life-affirming honesty.
