Letting him carry on may shorten the patient's life and shorten the teacher's life. It takes a great deal more skill, emotional toll, and effort to assist than to simply do the operation. It is hard to quantify exactly. We just do it one step at a time. In his professional life, the cardiac surgeon tries to place the patient first, all else coming second.
Patient responsibility is placed above personal convenience or negotiable family obligation.
There is much family sacrifice, making the cardiac surgeon sometimes an unreliable father or husband and a lousy friend. He cannot be absent at important times in the patient's illness. That means that he may not show up for planned family functions, or he may run off halfway through a meal with family and friends. Most of the patients and their families are very grateful. We do encounter once in a while ungrateful patients, threats of medico-legal suits, and complaints to the Medical Council.