Tedious memoir of a retired physician.Mallory's recollections plod
along through adolescence in 1950s Ohio, medical residency at Ohio
State, cutting-edge work in hip replacement and his deepening
Christian faith. About the early days of his marriage, he has
nothing more interesting to impart than the fact that they were
poor: "My bride and I were wrapped in blankets because the 1946
Ford I drove had no heater." (Don't worry; they eventually bought a
big house and fancy cars.) A few details do humanize Mallory. He is
frank, for example, about his desire to make money, and he freely
admits he often didn't spend enough time with his wife. But his
workmanlike prose offers a textbook example for writing students of
what not to do. Countless redundancies ("I was financially
solvent") and overblown adjectives ("profound," "agonizing") weigh
down the text. Mallory manages to transform potentially revelatory
moments, such as his discovery that the kindly surgeon directing
his residency had end-stage cancer, into trite musings about
"life's uncertainties." Show-don't-tell may be overused advice, but
it certainly applies here: Introducing a key story with a trite
phrase like, "a tragic event occurred that affected me greatly," is
guaranteed to suck the life out of even the most powerful vignette.
Extraneous reflections on (for instance) the importance of having a
yard for the kids don't serve the larger narrative - then again, it
never really becomes clear what the larger narrative is. Most
readers won't make it to what is presumably intended to be the
book's emotional climax, when knee-replacement surgery and a
diagnosis of Parkinson's disease show the great doctor what it's
like to be a patient. Mallory may have been an important orthopedic
surgeon, but he's no Jerome Groopman. (Kirkus Reviews)
The perils of aging are many, but the debilitating effects of
serious illness loom large. In this stirring memoir, readers will
discover a man who improved the lives of many arthritis sufferers
before himself succumbing to a cruel debilitating disease. ""The
Man behind the Mask"" tells the story of Thomas Mallory, who was
inspired to become a doctor after undergoing surgery for a high
school football injury. He went on to become a renowned surgeon and
a pioneer in joint replacement. In 2002, his successful career came
to an abrupt halt when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Mallory was one of the first surgeons in the United States to see
the potential for joint replacement technology, and in this memoir
he describes not only the nuances of introducing hip replacement
surgery but also the systems that he established to make it a
highly successful operation. He tells how he overcame initial
resistance to the procedure and became a respected teacher of the
technology, training many surgeons who went on to successful
careers, lecturing about his procedure around the world, and also
seeing VIP patients who journeyed to Ohio just to be operated on by
him. As a pioneer in this type of operation, Mallory first
recognized the value of using prosthetic innovation and
development. He became a proponent of modularity in joint
replacement surgery, which allowed a surgeon to customize a
prosthesis to a patient's joint in the operating room. His
innovations, along with those of Dr. William Head, resulted in the
introduction in 1983 of the Mallory-Head Hip System - a technology
still in use today and one that has offered relief to thousands of
patients. Tracing the joys and sorrows of his own career, Mallory
dispels the myth that surgeons are emotionally invulnerable and
cold. He offers his perspective on the pursuit of medicine as a
profession, on the doctor-patient relationship, and on litigious
challenges to physicians. He also commends the benefits of family
and leisure and the blessing of life in general while offering
insight into the management of an incurable disease. In our
skeptical era, Thomas Mallory is a shining example of a prominent
scientist who has maintained his faith in God throughout the highs
and lows of life. ""The Man behind the Mask"" is an inspiring
account for fellow professionals and general readers, as well as
for those who have benefited from the procedures he introduced.
General
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