Heart surgery requires precise movements. While medical devices in the OR have the potential to revolutionise patient care, their efficacy is intrinsically tied to the surgeon’s dexterity, coordination, and meticulous attention to detail.

So Getinge, has created a unique way for heart surgeons to keep their manual dexterity at peak levels, an idea by agency, Forsman & Bodenfors. It’s a cookbook. All nine recipes in the book are designed to practise hands skills. They were conceived and developed by New York cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon Dr Nirav Patel, and Fredrik Berselius, holder of two Michelin stars and founder & owner of Aska restaurant in New York. The recipes include at least one surgical technique familiar to surgeons that puts dexterity to the test, including precise cutting, injecting in a small, confined area, surgical stitching, anatomic dissecting and repetition, plus gentle handling, and concentration skills. 

“The Heart Surgeon’s Cookbook celebrates their phenomenal skills, while also being a great training tool. Surgeons consistently practice their skills – either in the operating room or at home, to maintain both their focus, physical and mental dexterity. This cookbook can help them to do that in an innovative and creative way,” stated Carsten Blecker, chief commercial officer at Getinge.

“A special cookbook for heart surgeons, for dexterity training. I just couldn’t say no. Dexterity leads to precision. Without precision, surgery is not effective. You must understand the importance of being effortlessly nimble and precise. It’s not that hard to see the parallels with high-end cooking,” added Dr Patel, who performs approximately 350 surgeries every year.

In addition to the book, the campaign also includes a short documentary about the project, in-depth content such as interviews, a landing page, and social media assets.

“Surgical staff usually spend hours training their dexterity inside and outside the OR. Some take up hobbies like playing guitar or folding origami. The Heart Surgeon’s Cookbook is a whole new way of fine-tuning surgical skills, and a celebration to the skills that surgeons already possess,” stated Leo Dal, creative at Forsman & Bodenfors.

Credits
Client: Getinge
Head of Brand Management: Jenny Gillberg
Former Executive Vice President, Brand & Communication: Jeanette Carlsson Hedén

Creative Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors
Art Director: Leo Dal
Copywriter: Jacob Nelson
Creative: Stefan Thomson
Designer: Jerry Wass
Digital Strategy Director: Peter Gaudiano
Account Handling: Greger Andersson
Account Manager: Helena Lignell
Planner: Maria Hallenborg
PR: Julia Sjödin
Producer: Océanne Texier

Media: Vekst

Production: Forsman & Bodenfors
Designer: Rasmus Brandin
Executive Producer: Jim Elfving
Photographers: Charlie Bennett & Rasmus Brandin
Post Production & VFX: Forsman & Bodenfors
Colour Grading: Jimmy Wulff
Vfx Artist: Emil Gradén
Retouching: Charlie Bennet & Emil Daniel
Editor: Donna Lee
Post Production: Superstudio
PR: Rvi Communications