The Complication

A brilliant and courageous doctor reveals, in gripping accounts of true cases, the power and limits of modern medicine. Sometimes in medicine the only way to know what is truly going on in a patient is to operate, to look inside with one's own eyes. This book is exploratory surgery on medicine itself, laying bare a science not in its idealized form but as it actually is -- complicated, perplexing, and profoundly human. Atul Gawande offers an unflinching view from the scalpel's edge, where science is ambiguous, information is limited, the stakes are high, yet decisions must be made. In dramatic and revealing stories of patients and doctors, he explores how deadly mistakes occur and why good surgeons go bad. He also shows us what happens when medicine comes up against the inexplicable: an architect with incapacitating back pain for which there is no physical cause; a young woman with nausea that won't go away; a television newscaster whose blushing is so severe that she cannot do her job. Gawande offers a richly detailed portrait of the people and the science, even as he tackles the paradoxes and imperfections inherent in caring for human lives. At once tough-minded and humane, Complications is a new kind of medical writing, nuanced and lucid, unafraid to confront the conflicts and uncertainties that lie at the heart of modern medicine, yet always alive to the possibilities of wisdom in this extraordinary endeavor. Complications is a 2002 National Book Award Finalist for Nonfiction.

The sixth novel in Young's "New York Times"-bestselling Program series. Every cure has a cost. Tatum Masterson learned this after years of being monitored by The Program. But when a procedure went wrong, a revelation shattered everything Tatum thought she knew. Now, with no one left to trust, Tatum must find out what really happened last summer.

Two wealthy and powerful men engage in a decades-long contest to create and possess the most remarkable watch in history. James Ward Packard of Warren, Ohio, was an entrepreneur and a talented engineer of infinite curiosity, a self-made man who earned millions from his inventions, including the design and manufacture of America’s first luxury car—the elegant and storied Packard. Henry Graves, Jr., was the very essence of blue-blooded refinement in the early 1900s: son of a Wall Street financier, a central figure in New York high society, and a connoisseur of beautiful things—especially fine watches. Then, as now, expensive watches were the ultimate sign of luxury and wealth, but in the early twentieth century the limitless ambition, wealth, and creativity of these two men pushed the boundaries of mathematics, astronomy, craftsmanship, technology, and physics to create ever more ingenious timepieces. In any watch, features beyond the display of hours, minutes, and seconds are known as “complications.” Packard and Graves spurred acclaimed Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe to create the Mona Lisa of timepieces—a fabled watch that incorporated twenty-four complications and took nearly eight years to design and build. For the period, it was the most complicated watch ever created. For years it disappeared, but then it surfaced at a Sotheby’s auction in 1999, touching off a heated bidding war, shattering all known records when it fetched $11 million from an anonymous bidder. New York Times bestselling author Stacy Perman takes us from the clubby world of New York high society into the ateliers of the greatest Swiss watchmakers, and into the high-octane, often secretive subculture of modern-day watch collecting. With meticulous research, vivid historical details, and a wealth of dynamic personalities, A Grand Complication is the fascinating story of the thrilling duel between two of the most intriguing men of the early twentieth century. Above all, it is a sweeping chronicle of innovation, the desire for beauty, and the lengths people will go to possess it.

In a gripping tale, Dr. John Hagen, a highly principled chief of surgery in a Toronto hospital, finds himself entangled in a complex web of deception and danger following a complication after routine surgery. Fueled by a personal vendetta, Nigel, an ambitious and arrogant chief of staff, set his sights on destroying John's career to further his own. As his sinister plots unfold, John becomes a target, facing attempts on his life. His daughter Ainslie uncovers a dark secret, leading to the exposure of a criminal network. Throughout the tumultuous journey, John allies with his sailing friends to uncover corruption within the coroner's office. A sailing holiday to a tropical Caribbean Island turns from paradise to a nightmare as the tentacles of corruption reach distant shores. Amidst personal turmoil, John's resilience shines as he navigates betrayal, loss, and attempts on his life. Suzie and Marco, steadfast allies, join forces to protect him.

After suicide becomes a worldwide epidemic, the only known cure is The Program, a treatment in which painful memories are erased, a fate worse than death to 17-year-old Sloane who knows that The Program will steal memories of her dead brother and boyfriend.

Searching for his missing brother in Prague, an American encounters a world of killers, gangsters, and ancient mysteries in a “satisfyingly twisted tale” (Publishers Weekly). When American collections agent Lee Holloway receives a letter from a mysterious woman named Vera concerning his missing brother Paul, curiosity takes him to Prague in search of answers. But what he finds in the historic city’s looming shadows and cobbled streets is a mind-bending world of conspiracy and danger. A world where black magic and sixteenth-century alchemy aren’t just footnotes in history books. A world where gangsters with fairy-tale names and a bloodthirsty serial killer exist alongside grim reminders of Nazi invasion. And where a priceless watch named The Rudolph Complication—commissioned by an eccentric Roman emperor—is rumored to hold the secret to eternal life. As Lee delves deeper into the question of Paul’s fate, he discovers unsettling truths about his brother . . . and himself. Now Lee must unravel the tangled threads of Paul’s last days if he wants to escape the ancient city alive. Echoing with ghosts and mythic monsters from Europe’s storied past, this is a heart-pumping thrill ride into the very heart of darkness.

Effectively avoiding, recognizing, and managing complications is integral to your operative success. Let a multidisciplinary team of experts in otolaryngology, plastic surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and general surgery guide you through the full range of complications associated with every type of head and neck procedure . . . so you will be equipped to produce the most favorable outcomes for even the most challenging cases! Expert, comprehensive, multidisciplinary coverage of head and neck complications helps you to safely incorporate new surgical techniques into your practice. An emphasis on complication prevention and recognition assists you in avoiding the "complication cascade." Coverage of both acute and long-term care of patients with head and neck complications prepares you to make effective choices in both instances. A new "Quality of Life" section examines the controversies that often surround selecting one procedure over another, illuminating why certain procedures aren't always best for some patients. A new section on complications of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery equips you to perform these techniques with greater confidence. A consistent, practical chapter format helps you focus on key clinical and surgical considerations. A new, more cohesive full-color illustration program richly captures visual nuances of clinical presentation and operative technique. A bonus CD-ROM allows you to use all of the images from the book in electronic presentations.

Develop apps for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple wearables using Visual Studio for the Mac. Learn how to set up your development environment and emulators, and how to create adaptive user interfaces for various platforms. Expert Dawid Borycki guides you through the fundamentals of programming for Apple platforms (Model View Controller, Test Driven Development), navigation patterns, gesture handling, accessing user's location, and reading and consuming data from web services. After reading this book, you will be able to build native apps that look and feel like other apps built into iOS, watchOS, and tvOS, and have the skills that are in high demand in today’s market. If you are already programming C# apps for web or desktop, you will learn how to extend your skill set to Apple mobile, wearable, and smart TV platforms. What You'll Learn Build and implement native apps for Apple platforms Create adaptive, universal views and handle navigation between them Access user's location and handle touch input Consume data from web services Minimize app development time with C# Who This Book Is For Developers who are interested in mobile and device development, as well as experienced non-Apple developers who want to switch or extend their skill set to programming for Apple platforms