every time you open somebody’s head there’s a one to two per cent risk of catastrophic haemorrhage or infection, and that risk is probably slightly greater in somebody her age. The only certainty was that she would slowly get worse if we did nothing – but, I added hesitantly, hoping that Mrs Seagrave herself would not notice, one might argue that given her age it was best simply not to operate and accept that she would slowly deteriorate before she died.
