A tug here, a flick of the wrist there, and a neat row of stitches appears in the defective heart. I pause, consider the consequences of botching the close, and throw in a few more for good measure.

Done. My first surgery. I had figured repairing a defective heart valve would be more difficult, especially considering my liberal arts degree. But as far as I can tell, my patienta rubber heart and a plastic rib cagewill recover fully.