Matthew Syed

were in high spirits

to deal with the issue once and for all

The risks are tiny

a couple of standard questions

Anesthetics are powerful drugs. They don’t just send a patient to sleep; they also disable many of the body’s vital functions, which have to be managed artificially. Breathing is often assisted using a device called a laryngeal mask

a tried-and-tested technique

But he hit another snag:

The situation was becoming critical

the margin for error

used only as a last resort