Dr. Md. Ashraful Islam

Dr. Md. Ashraful Islam does cardiac surgery. Associate consultant. He has a lot of letters after his name. MBBS. MS. FACS. FRCS. Probably spent half his life learning how to cut open chests. People come to him when their arteries are blocked. Usually older guys who ate too much heavy food over the years. They bring those square plastic CD cases with their angiogram videos. He just slides the disc into his computer. Watches the black dye pump through the heart on the screen. Points at the pinched spots. Tells them they need a bypass. It is a big operation. He does not smile much when he says it. Just writes down the admission date on a slip of paper. The desk probably has a half empty water bottle on it.

The cardiac OT is always freezing. They have to cool the patient down anyway. He uses a small electric saw to cut down the middle of the chest bone. Smells a bit like bone dust in the room. The heart-lung machine runs in the corner. Pumping dark red blood through thick clear tubes. He wears those heavy glasses with the little microscopes attached. Loupes. He sews tiny veins from the leg onto the heart. The thread is thinner than hair. Takes maybe five or six hours. His back probably hurts from leaning over the table. He finishes the grafts. Uses thick steel wires to tie the chest bone back together. Twists them tight with pliers. He takes off his gown. Leaves the room.