TV: Two men undergo life-saving surgery at CUH

Two men with heart problems undergo life-saving surgery in the next episode of documentary series Any Given Day: Cork University Hospital on RTÉ1 on Wednesday at 9.35pm.

Sean G has severe chest pain and is rushed to CUH Emergency Department by his family. He has a history of heart attacks. Clammy and clearly unwell, doctors suspect he may have a potentially fatal aortic tear.

Meanwhile, Martin thought a pain in his chest was heartburn or acid reflux. His doctor sent him to CUH where it was confirmed he had had a heart attack. Now, he is having a quadruple bypass.

It’s a big operation with attendant risks, but offers Martin the best chance of a future.

Also in the episode, in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, 20-year-old Zian is coming to the end of a seven-day observation period where electrical activity in his brain was tracked.

He has been having seizures since he was five, and his epilepsy does not respond to medication.

The CUH team, led by Consultant Neurologist Daniel Costello, hope he will have a seizure in the safety of the unit, giving them vital information for a future surgical treatment.

We also follow patient William, who has a brain aneurysm that is in danger of rupture. He is now at serious risk of stroke and requires neurosurgery to fix the issue.

Plus, Sean lost his wife to cancer and now has a tumour causing a significant blockage in his bowel, requiring a stoma bag to be fitted.

Bullying, parenting and the anxiety epidemic, are just some of the topics covered by Síle Seoige in a new series that starts on TG4 next week.

In Síle Seoige: An Saol Mar Atá, which starts at 9.45pm on Wednesday at 9.45pm, the renowned broadcaster brings compassion and journalistic integrity to a documentary series that explores some of the major challenges we face as a society today, seeking insights from both experts and ordinary people.

The first episode explores parenting, while the second one, on Wednesday, February 18 covers the topic of anxiety.

Síle talks openly about periods of anxiety in her own life and visits Cork, where Professors John Cryan and Ted Dinan discuss their groundbreaking research into the connection between the gut and the brain.