Final Diagnosis

In Irina Gradova’s novel “Final Diagnosis” (2010), a tragedy occurs in a hospital: after a seemingly successful joint replacement surgery, the patient dies. Anesthesiologist Agniya Smolskaya, feeling responsible, decides to find out the cause of what happened, since it was she who convinced the woman to undergo the operation. During the investigation, Agniya discovers that the necessary tests were not carried out before the procedure, and the surgeon Robert Karaev, with whom she has close ties, plans to add them retroactively to the medical chart. It is also revealed that Robert used for the patient not a high-quality expensive prosthesis, but a new product that had not yet been tested. Agniya is faced with a difficult dilemma: betray a loved person or violate her own medical duty.