"I'm on the way now."
"Chief Kong, what happened?" Zheng Ren asked, his fingers not slowing down an iota.
"It's an emergency. You keep doing what you're doing," Department Chief Kong said gruffly.
With that, he turned and left the CT room.
"Did you hear anything?" Zheng Ren asked.
"No, but I presume it's because the surgery by that German professor from Sorcery Capital has ended," Su Yun replied.
"I see." Zheng Ren continued the reconstruction.
"Is there a point doing this still?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to do my best. Otherwise, what will happen to this patient? Do you think that German professor will come to help him?" Zheng Ren steeled himself and continued charging headfirst into the unknown.
…
…
The research center had many meeting rooms.
Wu Haishi, Professor Pei and others were crammed into one along with Li Haitao, who was frowning. The playback started just as Department Chief Kong arrived.
"Little Li, is it true?" Department Chief Kong clung onto a sliver of hope.
"Chief Kong, their surgery ended at 4.15 pm. Have a seat and we will see if ours is even necessary," Li Haitao said.
A grim expression crossed Department Chief Kong's face and he took a seat in the front row.
He did not question the video's source. These people would not be here if it was unverified.
"Good day, everyone. A brief reminder: today, at 1400 hours, Heidelberg University's Professor Rudolf Wagner performed an interventional prostate interventional embolization. At 1615 hours, the surgery was announced a success. Let's watch the recording."
Li Haitao hit the play button.
The video was not an artistic masterpiece. Its beginning had been edited to exclude presurgical preparations, so the prostatography was the first thing onscreen.
The guide wire entered the abdominal aorta, then traveled to the common iliac artery. Imaging began when it finally reached the internal iliac artery.
It was a complex tangle of blood vessels.
The recording's resolution was mediocre at best and none of them could not make out which vessel led to the prostatic artery.
In the expert hands of Professor Rudolph Wagner, the guide wire moved from the internal iliac artery to a peripheral vessel. This was part of superselection.
The guide wire advanced effortlessly through the winding arteries, seemingly at home.
Department Chief Kong turned and asked Wu Haishi beside him, "Old Wu, do you think the guide wire was custom-made?"
"Should be. It doesn't look like a normal guide wire," Old Wu said.
Department Chief Kong shook his head. Their efforts felt in vain compared to a world-class surgeon with unlimited resources.
Perhaps it was as Li Haitao had implied: there was no point in pursuing this avenue of research.
The arterial superselection was a success.
After a few failed attempts to maneuver the guide wire into smaller branching arteries from the superior vesical artery1, the professor gave upland inserted the guide catheter to perform the embolization.
The surgical procedure was simple in theory but harder in practice.
Its success was a testament to the surgeon's skill and the quality of materials used.
Wu Haishi let out a deep sigh. Department Chief Kong empathized.
At the thought of capitulation, the silhouette of Zheng Ren hard at work before the CT scan console appeared in Department Chief Kong's mind. According to Wikipedia, the prostatic branch stems from the middle rectal artery but the author uses .
Chapter 236 - A New (Part 5 of 5)
In the era of technology, news tended to spread like wildfire.
The success of the prostate interventional embolization surgery in Sorcery Capital reached the higher-ups of Changfeng Microinvasive Surgery in record time.
It was earth-shattering news for the company.
While the professors in Imperial Capital had been studying scans and researching ways to carry out the surgery, Biosensors International had invited the world-class surgeon, Professor Rudolph Wagner, from Heidelberg University to Sorcery Capital. The multinational had also invested in a production line for large-scale manufacturing of their in-house guide wire and catheter used in the groundbreaking operation.
It all boiled down to capital in the end.
It mirrored the Chinese Revolution 70 years ago, where thousands of brave men froze to death on the battlefield as their impoverished country failed to supply them.
They were closing the talent gap but still lagged behind in materials science.
Their rivals had a head start of a few hundred years of knowledge and experience dating back to the industrial revolution.
Changfeng Microinvasive Surgery chairman c.u.m CEO, Ma Quan, was in his office. The lights were off as he sat motionless in his large office chair, stuck in the same position he had been in since the news broke.
As expected, there had been no progress from the engineering department.
Was this their end?
Decades of hard work, all gone in one fell swoop.
Were they too late? Was it because they lacked the core technology? There were many factors in play.
Ma Quan gazed in despair at the glimmering city lights outside his office window. He had expected such an outcome, but nothing could have fully prepared him for it.
During Shenzhen City's humble beginnings as a small fishing village, he had started out with a small, struggling supermarket.
He had then ridden the wave of Shenzhen City's growth and expansion.
Had he reached the zenith of his career? Although the company was far from bankruptcy, the influx of foreign businesses was making business more competitive, and the careless would be torn to bits…
Ma Quan sighed deeply.
His phone suddenly rang. Its bright screen cut through the oppressive darkness and breathed some life back into the office.
Ma Quan was not in the mood to answer any calls.
Seeing that this was from Manager Feng of the northeastern operations team, he rejected it.
The young man was competent and hardworking. In a decade's time, he could be in charge of a whole region.
What a pity.
Ma Quan could not guarantee if the company would survive that long… No, he was certain that it would not.
As he was deep in thought, the phone rang a second time.
He rejected it but seconds later, it rang again.
Ma Quan was outraged.
That insignificant salesman would not have gotten his personal number had he not felt the need to spur the man on to success with the interventional surgery in Imperial Capital. Now, that rare privilege was being abused.
This upstart was incorrigible, ringing him continuously like that.
Had he lost his wits?
Well, if it was death Feng Xuhui wished for, that could be expedited.
Ma Quan was not ill-tempered, but successful businessmen did not tolerate insubordination or disrespect.
This greenhorn had repeatedly called him despite his clear rejection. It was unforgivable.
Stony-faced, Ma Quan accepted the call.
Feng Xuhui's exuberant voice came through the speakers.
"Chairman Ma! We've had a breakthrough in Imperial Capital!"
Ma Quan huffed in response. This kid had probably not heard the news from Sorcery Capital. A breakthrough? Could any breakthrough provide leverage against an entire Biosensors International production line?
It was futile!
"The chief of the interventional surgery department, Dr. Kong, would like to meet you and discuss a supply contract for the hospital." Feng Xuhui's infectious joy bounced off Ma Quan, but his words surprised the old man.
Ma Quan suppressed his emotions to keep his voice from trembling. "What did you say?"
He had cultivated an infallible poker face from years of doing b
usiness.
However, Feng Xuhui's announcement was all that he wanted. He could barely contain himself.
Neither Changfeng Microinvasive Surgery and Biosensors International cared for the surgery's success out of the kindness of their hearts.
It was just a pathway to introduce their products to healthcare providers. Once the company's products were adopted by Imperial Capital General, their market would expand alongside the surgeons who flew across the country to perform surgery.
The tightening of healthcare regulations made introducing new products to the market harder. As a latecomer to the industry, gaining access to Imperial Capital General would give them a foothold in the domestic market.
Interverntional Surgery Department Chief Kong had agreed to a deal?
Ma Quan felt his blood pressure rise. Stars danced across his vision and he felt dizzy.
"Say that again!" Ma Quan growled, ignoring his discomfort.
Feng Xuhui noticed the agitation in Chairman Ma's voice and checked his excitement, deciding on a succinct summary. "Chairman Ma, Chief Kong of the interventional surgery department wishes to purchase some micro guide wires. The hospital's purchasing procedures require a contract with us, but since I'm not authorized to sign any agreements, I called you instead."
It was true! Ma Quan immediately replied, "I'll get on the next available flight!"
With that, he hung up.
In the darkness of his office, the lights outside seemed to twinkle with magic.
…
…
In the CT room of Imperial Capital General, Zheng Ren worked late into the night.
Although the anatomy of a prostate was simple, reconstruction of its CT scan was much more laborious than he had expected.
The capillary network was as complex as the river systems in the canal towns down south.
There were no obvious tumor-feeding arteries in the prostate area. The blood supply came from networks of capillaries whose origins could not be established.
It was similar to Zheng Yunxia's liver tumor absorbing nutrients from an unnatural branching of the phrenic artery.
The vascular system in the prostate was more complex than that of a cancerous liver.
After 4 taxing hours of fiddling with the CT scan console, Zheng Ren gave up and reluctantly used a skill book to raise his genitourinary skills to Master rank.
Equipped with a Master rank and the memory of 3,000 dissections, Zheng Ren believed few in the country—no, the world—could rival his knowledge of the prostate.
Master-level surgeons were common, but few could claim to have performed 3,000 prostate dissections. Experience was everything.
With his skills at CT scan reconstruction and interventional surgery also at Master rank, Zheng Ren was arguably at the forefront of prostate surgery research.
His fingers flew across the keyboard, performing countless operations one after another. One might have mistaken him for a competitive esports professional, hitting 500 actions per minute and demolishing his rival.
Department Chief Kong had his eyes closed, resting. Even Su Yun failed to keep up with Zheng Ren.
The hum of the 64-slice CT scan 3D reconstruction machine was ten decibels louder with Zheng Ren at the helm.
It was running at full power; there was no other way it could keep up with the lightning-fast hands and even faster mind before it
…
Chapter 237 - Sloppy Surgery (Part 1 of 5)
Zheng Ren pointed at one of the arterial branches on the bladder. "Su Yun, mark this spot down," he said to the assistant, who was standing behind him.
Su Yun recorded the position of the spot that Zheng Ren had specified with a pen and paper.
He did not write it down in English or Chinese characters, opting instead for a sequence of unique symbols that only he could understand.
Even though his notes were simple, the A4-sized paper was almost completely filled and on the verge of being switched out.
He already had three full pages of notes.
"What is it? Any progress?" Su Yun had noticed slight changes in Zheng Ren's expression and suspected another new breakthrough.
"I think we can give it a try. It would be better to have a thinner guide wire. Given the surgical tools on hand, though, we may as well go with our original plan of using the neurological guide wire to dredge the thin arterioles," said Zheng Ren.
The micro guide wire used in neurological interventional surgeries had the shortest diameter, which made it more difficult to control.
Even then, their available tools were not sufficient for prostate interventional surgery.
They had no choice but to make the best out of what they had.
After a brief discussion, they continued working.
As he performed image reconstruction, Zheng Ren periodically ordered Su Yun to record a particular location. The anatomical positions he pinpointed seemed scattered and random.
The perfect assistant as always, Su Yun stood behind Zheng Ren and kept his focus for 10 hours straight without any distractions.
At 4.12 a.m., Zheng Ren finally finished reconstructing the last branch of the capillary network. He inhaled deeply and a long-awaited smile appeared on his face.
"Is it done?"
"We're almost there. Our skills will be put to test in the following procedure." Zheng Ren pointed to the screen and said, "There are 6 arteries that branch out into arterioles before reaching the capillary network to supply blood to the prostate."
"Are you confident about this?" Su Yun doubted the feasibility of Zheng Ren's method. With current technology, it was impossible to perform superselective catheterization and embolization on those tiny capillaries.
"Not at all," Zheng Ren admitted truthfully.
The 3D-image reconstruction of the 64-slice CT scan was only the first step of this procedure. It was their battle map, allowing them to plan their next steps.
Other than that… Zheng Ren started calculating his surgery training hours and remaining experience points.
Was it wise to splurge on this? There seemed no better time to do so.
However, he recalled having one or two golden c.h.e.s.ts. Was it worth trying his luck? The second the thought crossed his mind, it was immediately dismissed by Zheng Ren.
Luck was not to be relied upon.
Zheng Ren had already decided on the preliminary surgical framework after reconstructing the first branch of the capillary network several hours ago.
Since the capillaries were too fine, he planned to mimic the technique he had used during Lin Jiaojiao's eye surgery to clear her ophthalmic artery. First, he had to insert the micro guide wire into a capillary thinner than it was. On top of that, he had to keep the force below arterial compliance to prevent postoperative bleeding.
Such an unconventional operation was rare. Those who tried it usually ended up failing; were it not for Zheng Ren's success with Lin Jiaojiao's eye surgery, Su Yun and Chief Kong would have turned down his proposed surgical method.
Even with that success under their belts, they remained uncertain of the method.
This surgery was just o.b.s.c.e.n.ely difficult. Nevertheless, after discussing it among themselves, they decided on using a locally-manufactured micro guide wire as its shortcomings could prove advantageous later.
The locally-manufactured wire was less pliable, making it much more difficult to operate compared to imported ones.
Harder guide wires usually complicated regular surgeries. However, applied to Zheng Ren's "dredging" method, that inflexibility could be to their benefit. With enough caution, it could help their surgery significantly.
Therefore, Department Chief Kong had gone ahead to notify Feng Xuhui that they would be using his company's guide wires.
He was not a hundred percent sure that Feng Xuhui could convey their plans accurately and provide them with the tools they needed.
Nonetheless, after seeing Feng Xuhui shadow Zheng Ren over the last few days, Chief
Kong decided to do the man a favor and requested a direct line to his superior from China Changfeng Microinvasive Surgery.
Zheng Ren neither knew nor cared about the whole ordeal.
His entire focus was on the design of his surgical procedure.
Above all else, he understood that the surgery failing would render everything else meaningless.
Zheng Ren woke Chief Kong, who had fallen asleep in his chair, and whispered, "Go and have a good rest."
"I'll take a nap back at the interventional radiology department. If you still have the energy, you can observe the surgery performed by Professor Rudolf Wagner from Heidelberg University. See if you can get something out of it," Chief Kong said.
Zheng Ren nodded.
Someone at thirty could technically burn the midnight oil. In fact, staying up all night was a mandatory skill for clinicians and chief residents of the emergency department. However, department chiefs slowly lost the ability to do the same as they aged.
It was simply nature's relentless advance.
They left the CT room. This time, Feng Xuhui was not waiting for them outside, most likely already on the way to the airport to receive his boss.
Chief Kong was on the brink of exhaustion even as he reached the demonstration room and switched on the video recording. Then, he went straight into his office to take a nap, yawning all the way.
He had to rest while he could as there could be other unforeseen events that needed his attention later.
Only Zheng Ren and Su Yun watched the recording of Professor Rudolf Wagner's surgery together.
Su Yun felt the same as he did last night when he had first watched it with the other professors. The foreigner's proficient skill, coupled with a precisely crafted micro guide wire and microcatheter, made the surgery perfect in every aspect.
Su Yun sighed, feeling defeated.
Based on his experience in interventional surgery, Professor Rudolf Wagner was slightly better than Zheng Ren. With the aid of similarly precise tools, Zheng Ren would probably be able to outperform this surgery.
It would not take much for him to transcend Professor Wagner.
Zheng Ren was not even thirty years old. In five years… no, three at most, his skills would most definitely surpass Professor Rudolf Wagner's.
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