The bravest doctor that I have heard about this month is an Italian surgeon called Gastone Veroux. He and his wife were in a bad car crash in rural Sicily and they were both taken off to the local hospital where Gastone is the top surgeon.

Although he was pretty shocked, he was more concerned about his wife Giovanna’s severe abdominal contusion. It soon became apparent that she had to have a splenectomy and fast.

Almost incredibly, Signor Veroux got up off his casualty trolley, staggered to the operating theatre, scrubbed up and went ahead and took his wife’s spleen out.

He was assisted by his son Pierfrancesco, who is the Italian equivalent of an SHO at the same hospital. After closing up, Gastone was taken back to Accidente e Bisogno Urgente to be treated for his injuries.