A renowned surgeon almost died from Covid-19. Here s what he learned facing the reality of death.
In March 2020, Tomoaki Kato, surgical director of adult and pediatric liver and intestinal transplantation at
NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and seven-time marathoner, nearly died from Covid-19 an ordeal that has transformed how he interacts with his patients, Denise Grady reports for the
New York Times. I thought I was going to be fine
At age 56, Kato was exceptionally fit, Grady reports. He had run the New York City Marathon seven times, and he specialized in operations that often lasted between 12 and 20 hours. I never got sick, Kato said. I had never faced the reality of death.
April 27, 2021 at 6:00 am
For more than a year now, scientists have been racing to understand how the mysterious new virus that causes COVID-19 damages not only our bodies, but also our brains.
Early in the pandemic, some infected people noticed a curious symptom: the loss of smell. Reports of other brain-related symptoms followed: headaches, confusion, hallucinations and delirium. Some infections were accompanied by depression, anxiety and sleep problems.
Recent studies suggest that leaky blood vessels and inflammation are somehow involved in these symptoms. But many basic questions remain unanswered about the virus, which has infected more than 145 million people worldwide. Researchers are still trying to figure out how many people experience these psychiatric or neurological problems, who is most at risk, and how long such symptoms might last. And details remain unclear about how the pandemic-causing virus, called SARS-CoV-2, exerts its effects.
Infected early in the pandemic, Dr. Tomoaki Kato, a renowned transplant surgeon, was soon on life support, and one of the sickest patients in his own hospital.
âI Had Never Faced the Reality of Deathâ: A Surgeon Becomes a Patient
Infected early in the pandemic, Dr. Tomoaki Kato, a renowned transplant surgeon, was soon on life support, and one of the sickest patients in his own hospital.
Dr. Tomoaki Kato, who performs liver and intestinal transplantations on adults and children at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center, was known to his boss as âour Michael Jordan.âCredit.Joshua Bright for The New York Times
June 3, 2021Updated 12:45 p.m. ET
Early in the pandemic, as hospitals in New York began postponing operations to make way for the flood of Covid-19 cases, Dr. Tomoaki Kato continued to perform surgery. Patients still needed liver transplants, and some were too sick to wait.