PREMIERE

ON THE PREMIERE OF "NY MED," CAMERAS FOLLOW A MOTHER OF TWO AS SHE UNDERGOES BRIAN SURGERY - WHILE AWAKE

Plus: See Another Side of Dr. Mehmet Oz as He Gowns Up to Perform Life-Changing, Open Heart Surgery on a Patient in Need of Help

For a full year ABC News cameras had unprecedented access to document the mayhem and the miracles that occur daily inside the walls of Columbia and Weill Cornell Medical Centers -- the crown jewels of the prestigious New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City -- for an eight-part series, "NY Med." Lutheran Medical Center also participated, adding a Brooklyn dimension to the series.

"Episode 101" -- In the premiere episode of "NY Med," airing TUESDAY, JULY 10 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network, viewers will meet the following patients, doctors and nurses:

· Rhonda Fernandez is a mother of two with a brain tumor that will be fatal if her surgeons cannot extract it. In a tricky neurosurgery called "wide awake," she will have to talk to her neurosurgeons, Guy McKhann and Jeffery Bruce, so that they know they are not damaging crucial motor control areas.

· Mehmet Oz may be the most famous doctor in the world due to his high profile on TV talk shows and magazines, but what most people don't know is that he is still one of the world's most highly skilled heart surgeons. In this episode, Dr. Oz repairs Jack Abramson's heart and does a little work on his soul at the same time.

· Marina Dedivanovic is a brassy, Bronx-born ER nurse whose knock �em dead good looks leave some admiring patients stammering. In the emergency room she will confront some peculiar cases, including a man whose erection has not subsided for 12 hours. But in a trauma situation there is no doubt that Marina's chief attribute is competence.

· Arundi Mahendran hails from a Sri Lankan-British family and describes herself as "small, brown and female." A resident in abdominal transplant surgery, her non-medical talents include miming American accents and singing opera. Viewers are likely to remember her as much for her superlative voice as for her compassion and professionalism with patients.

· Anthony Watkins is Arundi's fellow transplant resident and office mate. On the verge of becoming an attending, Anthony promises to be an outstanding transplant surgeon and has an easy outgoing personality. He and Arundi represent the changing face of medicine today -- a face that is increasingly more inclusive of physicians from other communities and cultures.

"NY Med" follows the irascible, compassionate and, at times, cocky attending surgeons who try to change the trajectory of lives by relying on sheer medical brilliance and a healthy dose of old fashioned good luck. The eight-part series takes a candid look at how cutting edge medicine often makes the difference, although even the best surgeons can find themselves flirting with disaster. The raucous ER staff trades jibes with strong-willed New Yorkers in moments that can be poignantly heartbreaking or off-the-hook hilarious. These doctors spend far more time with each other than with their families, developing complicated and intertwined personal relationships.

Terence Wrong is the executive producer of "NY Med." Erica Baumgart and Chris Perera are the supervising producers. Monica DelaRosa is the series producer and Andrew Genovese is the broadcast producer.

"NY Med" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with stereo sound.