11th Chapter of Surgeons Lecture--the art of letting go.

These observations were made by a Persian mathematician some 900 years ago. His sentiments are self-evident but no less easy to accept especially for operating surgeons. The reasons for staying on in the operating theatre are rarely financial. A recent survey shows that top surgeons earn more than ministers, which in Singapore, is quite a bit. If the reasons for continuing operative surgery are not financial, they must certainly be egotistical but egotistical in a very special way. We make a very great investment in acquiring surgical skills, an investment both in time and effort and it is very difficult to give up what is has been so hard to come by.