Sikeston physician uses medical background to write first novel

SIKESTON, Mo. -- What if the doctor doing your surgery wasn't really a doctor at all?

"Surgical Imposter," the latest book written by Dr. Max Heeb, examines this all-too-real possibility by telling the story of Jason Childs, a registered nurse, who assumes a new identity as Dr. Jason Stewart.

This is the second published book by Heeb, but his first work of fiction.

"The first book I wrote was called 'Max the Knife: The Life and Times of a Country Surgeon,'" he said. "That book was a biography; this is a novel."

The idea for the story dates back to an issue Heeb ran across during his 50-plus years as a surgeon.

"I was governor of the American College of Surgeons for Missouri and on the credentials committee for six years and realized there are charlatans out there practicing without proper training," he said.

The book explores how a person could end up living this sort of lie while also demonstrating "that they don't have a very peaceful life because the fear of discovery looms over them all the time," Heeb said.

In the novel, the book's main character, "wanted to be a surgeon ever since he had an appendectomy at age 12," Heeb said. "He did not get into medical school because he didn't study well his first two years of college. He becomes a nurse and helps his mentor, Dr. Heifer, in surgery for seven years. Dr. Heifer is a great teacher and his pupil becomes very adept at performing surgery."

Adept enough that Childs "then decides to realize his dream and become a surgeon and, with forged documents, he does a fairly good job of surgery in small towns in Tennessee and Kentucky," Heeb said.

The story then heats up when this fraudulent position begins making Childs attractive to women.

"My wife says it has too much sex in it," Heeb said. "He is unwilling to establish close friendships or relationships with the opposite sex for fear of being discovered as an imposter. He, however, has many relationships with the opposite sex, which places him in situations where several husbands, a father and a brother would like to see him dead. ... This guy lives a pretty sinful life. Because of his ego, he doesn't realize he has created all of his problems."

The book's cover depicts "not all of [Childs[']] girlfriends but the important ones," Heeb said. "The reader may try to put a name on these faces after reading the book. A hint is that two look very much alike."

Heeb said he decided to write this book as fiction instead of finding and researching a factual case study of a surgical imposter as he believed it would be more engaging and effective. Unlike a nonfiction book, the novel avoids dealing with legal issues: "I don't want to have to prove anything," he said.

All of the people appearing in the book are fictitious, but a couple of the book's characters do share -- with permission -- the names and occupations of local Sikestonians such as Dr. Anthony Poole.

And, as writers often do, Heeb draws on personal experience. "Some of the operations in there reflect my experience," he said.

Heeb said he started writing the book about two and a half years ago. An earlier version of the book was printed just over a year ago but as it contained several errors, Heeb asked that it not be released. While a few copies of the earlier draft were actually sold in India, this is the first time the book has been released in the United States.

The book is now available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and AuthorHouse.com. Those ordering online should make sure they are getting the latest version and not the previous imported version, however.