Working Life: Prof Eric Masterson, surgeon

A day in the life of consultant orthopaedic surgeon Prof Eric Masterson

7am: My namesake, Eric Jnr, a wonderful little three-year-old boy, acts as my wake-up call. He keeps us busy but he is a joy. I live in Croom so I have a half-hour commute to the hospital. It’s a big change from the convenient two-a-half mile walk to Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, where I worked for 20 years. My wife, Deirdre Fanning, also works at the Bon Secours Limerick at Barringtons, but we rarely see each other during the day. She is a urologist.

8.30am: The first two days of the week are operating days. Generally, I head straight to theatre, but occasionally there may be a consent issue or other issues to iron out first. I specialise in hip and knee operations, carrying out five to six surgeries on a typical day.