The world has transformed since Averil Mansfield, the UK’s first female vascular surgeon, graduated from the University of Liverpool.
In 1960, The Beatles had just formed and the Royal Iris sailed the Mersey. Hospitals had no ultrasounds, MRI or CT scans - doctors just cut in and explored. It was also the year Averil first saw an operation on an aneurysm, a bulge where blood passes through a weakened blood vessel.
By the time she retired in 2003, Averil had helped save thousands of lives by playing a key role in developing surgeries to prevent stroke. Despite the cover of her new book - Life in Her Hands - describing Averil as a "pioneering female surgeon", she shrugs off the title.
