Blood and Bone: Revelations of an Orthopaedic Surgeon

“This is the best kind of memoir. It is very honest, including talking about mental health troubles. It doesn’t skip the controversial bits, including outrageous bullying of women and junior staff by some senior surgeons. And it’s interesting, taking readers into the operating theatre and describing the remarkable daily job of sawing and hammering people’s bones.” - Nicky Hager; “This book is a fascinating insight into a facet of life where very few venture. Russell lays bare his frailties, his fears, his triumphs and vision. He is gloriously self-effacing, happy to concede he didn’t always get it right and fearlessly outlines his thoughts on the medical profession and medical politics. A great read.” - Grant Nisbett; “Candid, honest, illuminating. Blood and Bone’s very well written, comprehensive, informative and forthright.” - Brian Turner; “Better than any hospital romance, this is reality - life inside the operating theatre, with a famous surgeon who tells his story like a modest and down-to-earth Kiwi.” - Roger Robinson; “Russell Tregonning is a sensitive, thinking Orthopedic surgeon, which puts him rather outside the norm! In this fine, readable memoir he reveals his vulnerabilities, and the sometimes brutal system that was medical education and surgical training in mid-late 20th Century NZ. He became a fine fixer of the damaged knee and waxes lyrical about the beauty of that joint. (Actually all our parts are things of beauty and of extraordinary function.) Russell has wide interests in medicine and in the making of a better world; not the least was his support and promotion of women in his white male dominated field of practice. Read this, and you will never treat your ACLs badly again.” - Robin Briant ( previous Chairperson NZ Medical Council)

Russell Tregonning, an orthopaedic and knee specialist, trained in New Zealand, England and Canada. A senior consultant for over 40 years, he also lectured at Otago University medical school in Wellington, New Zealand. A resident of Wellington, he is an environmental activist, working with a team of medical professionals to alert the public to the dangers that the climate crisis poses to human health.