The physician getting patients fit for surgery

For Sasi Pathmanathan, whenever a patient has a good surgical outcome and goes home to enjoy a good quality of life “it’s like winning the lottery.”Pathmanathan is a consultant vascular perioperative physician at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. She is thought to be the first consultant perioperative physician in the country to be directly employed by a vascular surgical department.She is involved in the patient’s whole surgical pathway, from contemplating surgery right up to and beyond discharge. She enjoys being part of this journey—which could last anything from a few days to more than a year—getting to know the patient and their family, winning their trust, and working in partnership for successful outcomes.Knowing a patient’s life story and understanding what motivates them, “helps to think creatively about lifestyle changes,” Pathmanathan says.Empowered to make the role her own, she has pioneered an individualised prehabilitation programme and established home visits to…