Scars & Stains

Airway. Breathing. Circulation. Disability. Exposure. Perhaps the five most misunderstood words in life support.


Join anaesthetics and intensive care doctor, and award-winning writer Dr Mark ZY Tan, as he lays bare the clinical, ethical, and moral dilemmas facing intensive care professionals in today’s complex world. Scars and Stains takes readers into the world of intensive care, where split-second decisions and precise skills can forever impact the lives of patients and their families. It is a journey that crosses continents, communities, and cultures – from the slums of Thailand and jungles of Papua New Guinea to the wealthiest districts of London and largest hospitals in the UK. Caring for some of the most unwell patients, with the help of high-tech machinery, and often in emotionally volatile situations, Mark provides moving – and often eye-opening – insights into this fascinating frontier of medicine. He brings together the science underpinning this high-stakes specialty with the humanity required to navigate life and death decisions.

Written for anyone interested in the reality of life on the frontline, the book challenges preconceived notions of the ICU, sheds light on the often-misunderstood realities faced by patients, their loved ones, and healthcare professionals in the most challenging of environments, and guides readers in considering their own preferences and priorities when faced with life-limiting illnesses.

Foreword by Matt Morgan, author of Critical (2020) and One Medicine (2023)

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Reviews

Sometimes invigorating and buoyant, sometimes raw and confronting, this deeply moving insight into the life of an intensive care doctor will stay with readers long after they have put their copy down. Mark Tan writes with literary eloquence, disarming frankness, but above all with spellbinding humanity. Dr Anna Greenwood, Professor of Health History, University of Nottingham. Co-author: Florence Nightingale at Home (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), winner of the National People’s Book Prize, ‘Best Achievement’ 2021-2022.

A true gem, for once taken up it’s hard to put down. It’s not meant for the faint-hearted or those who desire a happy ending, though one can detect an undercurrent of hope throughout… Here’s the story behind the story, finely tuned and refreshingly painted. Dr Andrew Goh, Editor-in-chief, Impact Magazine Asia, Emeritus chairman, World Vision (Singapore) &...