From Heartstrings to Heart Surgery

The book “From Heartstrings to Heart Surgery” is the memoir of Professor Masoumal Ali Masoumi, a distinguished figure in Iranian cardiac surgery. In the preface, Masoumi explains the reason for writing this work: “For many years, the urge to write my memories has been a constant preoccupation. A doctor who spends his entire life reading, studying, examining patients continuously, and staying up at night in the hospital—what can he possibly write? Only repetitive words? Yet every person experiences bitter and sweet moments in life, each containing a world of experience. It would be a shame if these experiences bore no fruit! And what noble people play a role in one’s destiny, whose warm breath, pure spirit, gentle emotions, and boundless kindness leave a lasting impact on life. It is in expressing these beauties that hesitation is not permitted.” He continues: “The writing of these memoirs began in 2007 (1386 in the Iranian calendar). Some of the stories, related to medical topics, were written at the very beginning so that time would not deprive them of fulfillment. Completing this work took until 2020 (1399), and the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to bring it to a conclusion. Clearly, these memoirs are not history, but they represent historical realities because I witnessed them myself. In other words, they are small samples of history—samples of the Revolution, the war, and management in Iran, albeit on a smaller scale.”

A passage from the book reads:

“Upon returning home, when I first entered the operating room after the pilgrimage to Hajj, I suddenly felt as if I had entered another temple. There, anxious eyes meet you alongside weary, pounding hearts; there, one steps into a tense and perhaps intimidating environment called the operating room. Who, in such a place, does not see the shadow of death nearby? There, where everyone witnesses firsthand the end of hopes, dreams, and the sweetness of life, is giving hope and life again not an act of worship? Is it not worship to offer the promise of renewed life and to play the beautiful rhythm of existence once more?”