The Anatomy of Deception - Lawrence Goldstone [27]
Burleigh turned and faced the gallery. “As you can see,” he exclaimed proudly, “the operation was a success.”
Even before the last syllable was out, the Professor was on his feet. “We can go now,” he said to me softly. As we left, I could feel Burleigh’s eyes on my back.
Once we were out in the hall, the Professor asked, “So, Doctor, what did you think?”
“Ghastly. The entire process was highly septic, he used the wrong instruments, tissue trauma was severe, he did not examine the affected area for additional damage, and the stitching was worse than could have been achieved by an inebriated seamstress.” I might have added that my indignation at watching Burleigh at work had shocked the last aftereffects of drink right out of my system.
“And the result?” The Professor was attempting to speak evenly, but he was so angry that his face had gone pale and his mustache quivered.
“The patient will be disfigured for life.”
“No. The patient will die. I would say, Ephraim, that it was the most appalling piece of surgery I have ever seen, but unfortunately I have been forced to witness all too many other examples.” He pounded a fist into his hand. “Damn!”
“How can Burleigh be allowed to continue here?” I asked.
“Because he’s been here for four decades, that’s why,” the Professor fumed. “There is a ridiculous reluctance among some in authority to toss out someone with whom they regularly share dinner and a sherry, even if he kills or mutilates his patients. Agnew tried to have him dismissed in ‘85, but Burleigh’s friends on the board shrieked blasphemy.”
“They should be forced to sample his methods,” I said.
“Doctor, there is nothing more important than to obtain the best men in our profession, not just to treat patients but also to train the next generation. Do you understand? Nothing! That human beings are forced to endure the horrors of inept surgery is criminal. I would move mountains not to have to see the results of such butchery in the wards. And we would not in any surgical department with Halsted in charge.” He cocked his head toward the operating theater we had just left. “This answers your questions about Halsted’s fitness, I presume?”
It did. There would be no Wilberforce Burleighs at Johns Hopkins—but there would be an Ephraim Carroll. As the Professor walked down the corridor and disappeared around the corner, the words assistant head of clinical medicine played in my ears.
CHAPTER 5
AN ASSISTANT HEAD OF CLINICAL medicine cannot allow his energies to flag. I decided to busy myself with patients through the afternoon, head for the doctors’ dining room at about six—where my choice, as always, would be overcooked pork chops or dried roasted chicken—and then spend the evening at the library or the forensic laboratory. I had also resolved to satisfy my curiosity on another matter, but needed to wait until well into the night to do it.
Planning cannot stand up to circumstance, however. My odd and tumultuous day took an additional twist when, just after Dr. Osler’s departure, Simpson appeared at the other end of the hall. She beckoned me to join her.
“I’ve been hoping to speak to you,” she began. Simpson, even in her uniform, now appeared to me as she had the previous day at tea—amber-flecked eyes and sorrel hair. “I thought I might reciprocate your offer. Are you free this evening? Or do you intend to repeat last night’s bacchanalia?”
“I do not expect to repeat that for some considerable time,” I observed, “but I was planning on reading case histories and studying tissue samples.”
“Reluctant though I am to draw you away from scholarly pursuits,” she replied, “I believe that I can offer you an alternative equally illuminating.”
I pressed to find out what she meant, but Simpson demurred, so I assured her that I would be pleased to accept her invitation and asked when and where I should come with a carriage.
“That won’t be necessary,” she replied. “I’ll come for you. Be out front at five forty-five.” She dismissed my protests with a wave of her hand. “Consider it a step into a new world,” she said.
Although