Cancer Surgeon Dr. James Wittig: "I Was Hanging On by a Thread"

Dr. James Wittig built his career saving children's limbs from cancer. Then a heart scan he asked for himself led to a catheterization that found a 99% blockage in his left anterior descending artery. "I was hanging on by a thread."Dr. Wittig is an orthopedic oncologist and sarcoma surgeon with more than 25 years in limb-sparing surgery for bone and soft tissue tumors in children and adults. In this conversation with Dr. David Spiro, he traces his path from Paterson, New Jersey, where his father was a police officer and his mother a hairdresser, to the mentor who drew him into limb-sparing surgery for childhood bone cancer.He describes chairing a department of 120 orthopedic surgeons while starting a residency program, sleeping about five hours a night for 30 years, and the blood pressure and cholesterol numbers that kept getting explained away. He talks about the stretch of roughly 180 hours of surgery in two weeks that ended in kidney failure, his decision to resign, the chest pain on the treadmill, and the procedure where he went into ventricular tachycardia before three stents opened the artery. He also shares what he would tell his younger self, why doctors treating doctors can be a trap, how he rebuilt his sleep, and why he is now studying hypnosis and mind-body medicine for cancer patients.(00:00) Cold Open: "Hanging On by a Thread"(00:18) Welcome & Meet Dr. James Wittig(02:03) Growing Up in Paterson, New Jersey(04:28) The Mentor Behind Limb-Sparing Surgery(06:01) From Amputation to Saving the Limb(08:53) Why Bone Cancer in Kids Gets Missed(10:22) The Heart Scan He Asked For(11:48) 80-Hour Weeks and Five Hours of Sleep(14:11) A 70% Blockage(15:06) 180 Hours of Surgery, Then Kidney Failure(16:30) Chest Pain on the Treadmill(18:28) 99% Blocked(19:25) V-Tach on the Table and Three Stents(20:53) What He'd Tell Himself 20 Years Ago(23:48) Solo Practice, On Call 24/7(25:40) Purpose, Prayer, and Learning to Say No(27:34) Why Nobody Said "This Is Too Much"(29:27) The Trap of Doctors Treating Doctors(31:47) Finding a Mentor Who Advocates for You(32:42) "It Wasn't Human"(33:40) Life After the OR: Hypnosis and Mind-Body Medicine(37:00) How He Rebuilt His Sleep(42:10) Getting the Phone Out of the Bedroom(44:09) His Advice for Physicians in Their 50s(45:08) New York vs. New Jersey & GoodbyeContact Dr. Wittig:JamesCWittigMD.comTumorSurgery.orgMandalaMedicalGroup.comCheck out the Inside HuMed Newsletter: https://www.humedpod.com/inside-humedThis episode is one physician's personal story and is not medical advice.It is also available on video on Apple Podcasts. Follow HuMed so you never miss an episode.