The Surgeon's Studio c1-799

by Black Ursa Prime

  Regardless, he went to the airport to personally welcome them.

  It was always useful to know a few experts in the medical profession.

  For example, If the mayor fell sick, he could pull strings for the man to receive treatment in Germany through Professor Rudolf Wagner. That would be such a proud moment!

  He would not need to worry about promotion in the future.

  After meeting up with the two, he drove them to the general hospital right away.

  "Where's Zheng Ren?" Department Chief Kong said, concerned about not seeing Zheng Ren at the airport. He could not care less about the hospital director.

  A director? Of a county-level hospital? What about it?

  Zheng Ren was not part of the welcoming party. Was he getting c.o.c.ky over his achievements? Youth these days…

  "Dr. Zheng's in an emergency surgery. I called the operating room and was told that it's still in progress," Director Xiao Keming explained patiently, unbothered by both professors' contempt.

  Oh. He was in an emergency.

  Why had he chosen to stay in Sea City? Had he stayed in Imperial Capital, he would only need to perform surgery by consultation. Was that not good enough for him? Regardless of one or the other, he would still be saving lives.

  Department Chief Kong silently cursed Zheng Ren.

  The three rushed to the emergency building of Sea City General Hospital.

  Director Xiao Keming was chatty, trying to keep the atmosphere lively by introducing the history and culture of Sea City throughout the journey.

  "Why is Zheng still working in the emergency department?" Professor Rudolf Wagner finally asked, breaking the silence after a long while.

  As a world-renowned professor, he was not familiar with emergency surgeries.

  However, everyone had to start from the bottom and the emergency department was but one rung on the ladder.

  "Professor Rudolf, Zheng Ren is the chief resident of the emergency department in the general hospital, which means that he's responsible for all emergency diagnoses and related surgeries there," Department Chief Kong said after some thought, hoping the description was understandable enough.

  He was not sure if Professor Rudolf Wagner got the gist of it. They continued chatting as the car sped towards the Sea City General Hospital.

  The emergency building was the only one of its kind in Sea City.

  Nevertheless, it was not grand enough for Department Chief Kong and Professor Rudolf Wagner's liking.

  Director Xiao Keming introduced the hospital to them. After only a few sentences in, he realized that neither of them showed the slightest interest, and stopped talking.

  After contacting Old Chief Physician Pan, they rushed to the emergency operating room after being briefed on the patient's condition.

  They changed into isolation suits and entered the operating theater through the doctor's access route.

  Chu Yanran was sitting in front of the operating console and watching the ECG monitor. She had already put on a lead apron, ready to run in at any moment.

  Chu Yanzhi was pacing back and forth while humming a song, exuding the energy and motivation of youth.

  Xie Yiren was standing, her eyes fixated on Zheng Ren, observing him through the leaded glass.

  "Director Xiao, they're in the middle of a rescue," Old Chief Physician Pan said. Then, surprised, he asked, "Hmm? Why are you guys out here?"

  When Chu Yanzhi heard Director Xiao's arrival, she immediately hid in a corner and pretended to be idle.

  Chu Yanran stood up instantly and answered with a smile, "The exploratory laparotomy was completed ten minutes ago; he removed the spleen and patched up the ruptured liver.

  "Then, he discovered a massive retroperitoneal hematoma and deduced that the pelvic fracture could have injured the internal iliac artery branch, which is why Chief Zheng is now performing superselective catheterization radiography and subsequent embolization."

  "Right." Old Chief Physician Pan nodded, his overbearing demeanor eclipsing the director, department chief and German professor behind him. Even in such company, Old Chief Physician Pan still stood out.

  "He's quite competent," Department Chief Kong said, laughing.

  Professor Rudolf Wagner's eyes remained fixed on the interventional imaging, unmoving.

  Even though they had a language barrier, the imaging had no borders.

  Onscreen, it was as if the fine micro guide wire had a mind of its own. It continued moving fluidly, unhindered by the superselective catheterization of even the tiniest of blood vessels.

  Superselection, embolization and radiography were all done in one breath.

  Professor Rudolf Wagner knew that he had finally found the one he had been searching for.

  Chapter 278 - Chief Zheng Is Not Available (Part 2 of 4)

  The surgeon was very skillful, definitely the one he had been looking for.

  Professor Rudolf Wagner confirmed his speculations after watching the man for less than a minute.

  The internal iliac artery branch was very narrow, but on the monitor, the surgeon had no problem performing superselective catheterization with the micro guide wire.

  To Professor Rudolf Wagner, the diameter of the micro guide wire was considerably wide, but that was apparently no obstacle to it reaching the capillaries and starting embolization.

  "Kong, he's your collaborator, right?" Professor Rudolf Wagner asked in broken Mandarin.

  The professor was a language savant. He had studied Mandarin for a time and travelled to China before. Simple sentences were of no issue, but he did not use it often.

  As he had an interpreter following him around, why not speak in his own mother tongue? From his standpoint, it was a disadvantage to speak in the language of the other party.

  However, circ.u.mstances had now changed.

  Department Chief Kong nodded and observed Zheng Ren's surgery.

  Director Xiao was stunned. Collaborator? Was there anyone in this hospital worth being addressed as a f*cking collaborator by a German professor?

  "Director Xiao, Zheng Ren was invited to Imperial Capital for research on novel surgical methods a while ago," Old Chief Physician Pan explained.

  Director Xiao nodded while the office director behind him began sweating profusely.

  When the office director had received news this morning about a visitation by a German professor and another esteemed doctor from Imperial Capital, he had been a little lost. Why would a professor of such renown come to Sea City, not to mention at such short notice? The situation was very abnormal.

  However, he had not divulged the news and tried to look into it quietly.

  No one usually paid attention to the outpatient department. The main job of an office director was to butter up the director instead of monitoring every move in the outpatient department like a royal guard.

  Nevertheless, Director Xiao said nothing, clearly dissatisfied.

  Director Xiao was the kind of person whose glare was survivable, but whose silence indicated anger.

  The office director took an opportunity to slip out of the operating room into the corridor, getting some distance away before entering another operating room to make a call.

  "Zheng Ren from the emergency department. Any recent news about him?

  "How are you the marketing director?!

  "Got it."

  The office director hung up dejectedly, his eyes staring up at the sky. Through the window, it was already dark. Light pollution from the city painted the layers of clouds above a dark red hue.

  Dark and gloomy, like his current mood.

  Two days ago, Sea City News Network and Sea City Metropolis Daily had sent a joint notice to the hospital, but he had forgotten about it as Director Xiao had gone to Provincial Capital to attend a meeting.

  No, he had not forgotten. He had included it in the morning briefing for tomorrow.

  Damn it!

  According to the marketing director, Zheng Ren had appeared on tel
evision?

  Tsk, who watched television nowadays? The office director kept his thoughts to himself, but sent the information to his subordinates and told them to gather related information.

  Director Xiao would question his involvement if it was brought up later over a meal and he failed to answer questions about it.

  He might not have been involved, but his head would be on the block.

  Finally returning to the operating room, he sneaked back behind Director Xiao, relieved.

  Why had the atmosphere become so serious?

  "Chief Zheng is in surgery, he's not available currently." Chu Yanran was holding Zheng Ren's phone, her tone unusually harsh.

  Xie Yiren was confused over what had happened and stared at her with eyes wide open.

  "What happened?" Aware of Chu Yanran's background, Director Xiao smiled when he saw her getting angry, hoping to calm her down.

  As she hung up, her anger dissipated. Despite her unhappiness, she felt a rare sense of satisfaction and her entire demeanor changed.

  Calmly, she said, "There was an error in gastroenterology's diagnosis. The patient cannot continue with conservative treatment and wants to ask Chief Zheng to perform surgery."

  "Oh? What's that about?" Director Xiao was puzzled.

  Chu Yanran explained what had happened in the emergency department earlier.

  The patient had been admitted to the gastroenterology department after their encounter.

  She received the corresponding medication there, but since she had acute abdominal pain, she was not given analgesics as they would affect diagnosis.

  It was why she had been suffering this whole time.

  Administration of antibiotics and the relevant medication did not alleviate but rather aggravated the patient's symptoms.

  Zhou Wenxiang's expression was somber.

  No family of the patient could smile in such a situation.

  Chief Xia had not considered other possibilities as pain could not be treated for acute cholecystitis. However, although antibiotics ought to have taken effect, the patient's condition had only worsened

  It was then that she remembered the words of the emergency department's chief resident.

  Gallbladder torsion? Impossible, it couldn't be. In her 30 years of experience, she had only encountered one case of gallbladder torsion.

  But… was it really impossible?

  Why were the patient's symptoms so similar…

  Chief Xia hesitated.

  However, she refused to consult Zheng Ren, for no other reason than her unwillingness to lose face!

  She called Chief Sun from the second general surgery department. A little over 10 minutes later, Chief Sun arrived for a consultation.

  Chief Sun fell into deep thought after observing the patient's condition.

  "Old Sun, what do you think?" Chief Xia asked.

  Chief Sun was surprised by himself as his first instinct was that Zheng Ren had been right!

  The man had made the correct diagnosis on so many occasions. Why would he be wrong this time?

  What was that? Gallbladder torsion was very rare? Chief Sun was not convinced that he would never encounter it.

  It was because of its rarity that they had to be more careful about the possibility of it happening.

  "Hey, Old Sun!" Chief Xia snapped, displeased by Chief Sun's silence.

  "Huh?" He regained his senses and said, "I think that if the pain continues, we can't continue conservative treatment."

  He took the middle ground without mentioning the diagnosis in order to not offend anyone. The truth would be revealed when the patient received surgery.

  "Surgery?" Chief Xia's tone changed slightly.

  "There's no clear diagnosis. With consent, we can prepare for an exploratory laparotomy," Chief Sun continued diplomatically. He avoided mention of the gallbladder and suggested an abdominal exploration.

  "We'll wait for the results of the detailed blood test," Chief Xia said.

  The diagnosis of a rare disease was problematic. In general, physicians did not give conclusive remarks. Those who did were quacks, and bad ones at that.

  However, many people still preferred to hear a definite answer, which was fertile soil for scam artists.

  Before the patient had been admitted, all test results had indicated mild cholecystitis with slight edema.

  Chief Xia was sure of recovery through medication.

  However, when she saw the patient's symptoms worsening with no signs of improvement, her confidence wavered.

  Could it really be as rare a disease as gallbladder torsion?

  The results of the test came back and confirmed a change in inflammation. Even though only a few hours had passed, the condition of the patient had changed so drastically that it made the previous diagnosis obsolete.

  Chapter 279 - Expanding Your Horizons (Part 3 of 4)

  The physical examination revealed that the patient was experiencing chills and a high fever, as well as signs of abdominal guarding and abnormal muscle rigidity.

  Department Chief Xia had no other choice but to proceed with surgery.

  The patient was transferred to the second general surgery department.

  Ever since the emergency department had taken his patient, the first general surgery department chief, Dr. Liu had yet to clock in, leaving only the second general surgery department chief, Dr. Sun.

  They prepared for the emergency procedure.

  Department Chief Sun was mindful when handling the case as he did not want to offend anyone. He made a call to Zheng Ren and asked if he had time for a consultation.

  Normally, it would be a junior doctor ringing up the department chief for assistance.

  Department Chief Sun was not embarrassed by this, however; Zheng Ren was someone who could perform a Whipple procedure by himself.

  Whatever doubts that he had about Zheng Ren vanished after witnessing yesterday's emergency surgery. Zheng Ren's quick decision to embolize the artery and allow segments of the intestines to necrotize had impressed him. The successful bowel resection surgery that followed had quelled any distrust he previously had for the young doctor.

  It was a miracle and Department Chief Sun knew better than to offend someone with such talent.

  Still, Zheng Ren was occupied at the moment.

  Director Xiao asked, "Is there a problem with Chief Sun's surgery?"

  "I believe they're starting the surgery. He wanted Chief Zheng to stand by for assistance," Chu Yanran said nonchalantly.

  Director Xiao was bewildered.

  A chief resident, on standby to step in for a department chief?

  "Chief Zheng diagnosed the patient with gallbladder torsion. I think Chief Sun worries about finding something unexpected," Chu Yanran said, noticing Director Xiao's odd expression.

  "My God, a floating gallbladder!" Professor Rudolph Wagner said in Mandarin.

  Director Xiao was not a general surgeon and did not understand the significance of the diagnosis.

  "Have you seen one before, Professor Rudolph?" Department Chief Kong asked with a smile.

  He knew the quirky, artsy professor was able to understand and speak Mandarin, albeit with an accent.

  "I heard there was a research group in Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin who had worked on this, but their progress was limited by how rare the disease was," Professor Rudolph Wagner replied in halting Chinese.

  Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin was Germany's top university hospital; the research lead was also a member of the German Excellence Initiative, which was how Rudolph Wagner had found out about it.

  This diagnosis had piqued his interest.

  "Director, I would like to have the surgery recorded if possible. It will be valuable educational material," the professor requested.

  Director Xiao agreed to it. It was a small matter, especially when it was for a foreign acquaintance. The hospital already recorded routine surgeries and a rare one like this was no exception. It would be useful
for future reference.

  The German professor's request was a statement on the importance of the surgery, and indirectly, a statement about Sea City General Hospital's reputation as a healthcare facility.

  It was a win-win situation.

  Director Xiao went through a few pleasantries before excusing himself to make a call, not waiting to see if the professor understood or not.

  "Chief Liu, can you hold the surgery?

  "A professor from Germany wants to observe.

  "The patient… Hold on." Director Xiao put the phone down and turned to Professor Rudolph. "Professor, the patient has septicemia and they can't pause the surgery."

  The foreign professor had a look of longing as he watched Zheng Ren's surgery. A moment later, he said, "Zheng completed the surgery in record speed. Will he be performing the next one? I've never seen an interventional surgeon perform general surgery."

  No one said a word.

  They had never seen it before as well. It was time to expand their horizons.

  Seeing Zheng Ren complete a pelvic fracture artery embolization within 20 minutes left several holes in Professor Rudolph Wagner's pride.

  Previously, he had been reluctant to concede that Zheng Ren had the Hands of God.

  Now, he could not refute the moniker. It was as if God had descended upon humanity and took up the operating room.

  Rudolph Wagner predicted the surgery would take an hour to complete. For a normal surgeon, the procedure would take at least three to five hours.

  Interventional radiology-assisted surgery was only a few decades old; an infant compared to general surgery. The passing of knowledge spanned two or three generations of doctors at most.

  Some had never even heard of interventional radiology-assisted surgery as not all hospitals were equipped with the required facilities.

  Other forms of surgery had many more years' worth of knowledge and thus expertise.

  Knowing that, Professor Rudolph Wagner was blown away by Zheng Ren's Grandmaster-level interventional surgery skill.

  Were it any other field, Zheng Ren would likely have needed to reach Legend rank to be recognized by the world's top surgeons.