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This is a Radio Cherwell Original Podcast

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Hosted by: Aleksandra Jedlinska

We return to Matters of the Heart: Conversations with Cardiac Surgeons for Part 2 with Philip Kay, whose reflections move seamlessly from the operating theatre to the wider world. He shares a poignant story close to home that reshaped him as a surgeon- reminding him that technical mastery means little without empathy. From discussing the tactile precision of closed mitral valvotomy, a pre–heart-lung machine procedure performed by feel rather than sight, to recommending his memoir My Hands Have Held 10,000 Hearts, this episode becomes a trip through his life. That journey stretches far beyond medicine: an eye-opening Volkswagen minibus adventure through Florence, Greece, and Turkey, home through Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands- with Paris later on winning romantically as the fountains danced at the Palace of Versailles.

The adventure continues across generations, returning every five years to Wengen beneath the Eiger in Switzerland, witnessing elephant herds in Chobe National Park in Botswana, standing in awe at Machu Picchu in Peru, and exploring the wildlife of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. Along the way, Philip Kay offers heartfelt advice to medical students: stay curious, honour the pioneers before you, and never lose sight of the human being behind the diagnosis. And stay tuned- there’s a quiz at the end to test how closely you’ve followed this remarkable trip through surgery, family, and a lifetime of learning of both Mr Philip Kay and Mr Bil Kirmani.