Surgeon's Story

Surgeon’s Story is the story of the life and career of Dr. Kristine Guleserian, a pediatric heart surgeon who operates on the walnut-sized hearts of newborn babies. One of only 9 women in the U.S. board certified in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. G, as she’s known, spent years learning her highly specialized trade.

In the book, you’ll meet Andrew Madden, the teenaged boy from West Texas who, only three weeks after his heart transplant, threw out the first pitch at a World Series game for his beloved Boston Red Sox.

You’ll meet two-year old Rylynn, a tough little fighter whose wait for a donor heart stretched into months in the ICU before culminating in a dramatic, night-long surgery.

And you’ll meet Dr. G, and learn about her education, her training, and most of all her selfless dedication to her patients and her craft. Dr. Guleserian opens up completely about life as a female surgeon, the obstacles she had to overcome to reach her position, and the constant challenges facing surgeons who operate on the tiniest patients.

You’ll also be charmed by Dr. G’s incredible humor. This is, after all, a woman whose motto is, “If you can’t operate in heels… you can’t operate.”