Pale grey denoted the dead segment.
After the embolization of the mesenteric artery branch, a part of the intestine had necrotized due to lack of blood. Zheng Ren was identifying the affected parts.
Necrosis required some time, so Zheng Ren was not in a rush.
The slow surgery was approaching its climax.
Zheng Ren reached out and a scalpel was handed to him.
Based on the difference in color, Zheng Ren made a decisive cut in the intestine 0.5 cm away from the pink segment.
The cut was clean and neat. Within 10 minutes, Zheng Ren managed to remove 40 cm of necrotized intestine and reattached the live sections.
Chatter on the Xinglin Garden livestream had died down. The occasional comment popped up but there was 90% less activity on the stream.
No one spoke in the control room. The three department chiefs with their varying stances on the ongoing procedure were absolutely shocked by what they were seeing.
Even Old Chief Physician Pan could not believe his eyes.
It was a last resort1: to embolize the artery and cut off all the necrotized parts of the intestine.
Although collateral damage was significant, there was no better alternative.
Better this than letting the patient waste away in the ICU.
They watched as Zheng Ren expertly performed the general surgery. Department Chief Sun was almost blinded by all that potential…
Zheng Ren's method was simple and straight to the point. Department Chief Sun would do the same if he was the surgeon.
However, Department Chief Sun could never match Zheng Ren's speed and accuracy.
The old department chief felt a pang of grief in his heart as he lamented his old age.
Even if he had the speed, he lacked the synchrony Zheng Ren had with the scrub nurse. Zheng Ren only had to reach out and the right tools would appear almost instantly in his hand.
Even a weathered department chief such as himself had never met someone who could work this well with him.
It was… exceptional!
With the resection complete, the cavity was rinsed and suctioned. A final check was done to ensure there was no active bleeding before the abdomen was closed up.
A large part of the surgery had been spent waiting for the segments to necrotize.
[I think I just went blind for a second there.]
[I salute the surgeon for being able to perform such a surgery.]
[I can conclude that every decision the surgeon makes is the right one. He has never gotten anything wrong since the first appendectomy livestream.]
[Where are the skeptics and naysayers now? Come out and explain this!]
[Amazing. Such an innovative procedure; perhaps I can try this if I encounter a similar case.]
[Don't be naive. The surgeon has guts and skill. If you make a mistake in a surgery like this, it'll turn into a huge lawsuit.]
Once the abdomen was sealed, the livestream ended and comments flooded the screen.
The procedure was not Zheng Ren's own. He had read about it in various medical journals discussing similar case studies.
However, his advantage over his peers lay in his expertise in both interventional and general surgery.
Others had to rely on an interventional radiology specialist to perform the imaging before passing the baton to the general surgeon. Having the same person perform both procedures was a completely different matter.
Under Zheng Ren's knife, the patient was treated swiftly and thus the risk of post-surgery complications was greatly reduced.
"Ding dong~" The System rang, signaling a completed mission. The original text for "last resort" is (lit. "dying to live"), used in reference to a move in the Chinese board game Go equivalent to sacrificing one's own pieces to achieve a larger victory.
Chapter 269 - Something Intimate, Something Sweet (Part 3 of 5)
[Emergency Mission: Resuscitation completed.
[Mission: Completed one of the emergency surgery on gastrointestinal bleeding.
[Mission Reward: 200 skill points, 2,000 experience points.
[Mission Time: 2 hours 15 minutes, remaining 2 hours 45 minutes.]
Zheng Ren sighed. He had been pampered by the System's lavish rewards, and the ones he was now getting seemed inadequate in comparison.
There was no choice but to be more frugal.
That feeling… was something he was used to.
He took off his sterile surgical gown and walked into the operating console room wearing the isolation suit.
"Monitor postoperative coagulation," he said.
"Sure, anything else to keep an eye on?" Chief Qian asked.
"With Su Yun here, there won't be."
Chief Qian was stunned.
Had he just replied with a follow-up question? It felt like he had gone back twenty years to being a clinical doctor, noting down everything his superior said and obeying orders unconditionally.
However, this person was just a chief resident while he was the department chief of the ICU in Sea City General Hospital. What kind of arrogant… As he was on the verge of getting indignant, he compared their respective surgical prowess and steadied himself.
Chief Qian offered an awkward smile, patted Zheng Ren's shoulders and glanced at him meaningfully. Then, without saying a word, he turned around to order one of his subordinates to transport the patient back to ICU.
"Little Zheng, you're amazing!" Chief Liu praised.
"It's just a basic procedure," Zheng Ren said calmly.
"If Old Chief Physician Pan is willing to let you go, come to me. I'll make you a deputy chief right away." Chief Liu dared not poach Zheng Ren right in front of Old Pan and left it there.
As expected, Old Chief Physician Pan glared at him. Chief Liu smirked and left the emergency operating theater some more small talk.
Mild-mannered Chief Sun, on the other hand, did not make any moves of his own.
Before this, he would not have hesitated to steal patients from the emergency department no matter how vicious they were. Now, especially when even Chief Liu backed down, he did not dare face off against Old Chief Physician Pan and his terrifying chief resident.
In this case, preoperative procedures were the key, but he had no clue what Zheng Ren had been doing. He had wanted to give it a try but was fortunate that his habitual cowardice made him turn around; otherwise, he would have just made a fool of himself.
Chief Sun left the emergency operating theater and the building. Chilly winds grazed his face, making him feel more energized. He recalled the surgery earlier and let out a long sigh.
The duo, Zheng Ren and Old Chief Physician Pan, could dominate the entire hospital.
Regardless if he understood the procedure, the interventional surgery would not have been successful were there no one to perform it.
Even if someone else could perform the radiography, Chief Sun would never take the risk inherent to such a surgery.
After Chief Sun's departure, Old Chief Physician Pan silently stared at Zheng Ren for a long time.
Zheng Ren was puzzled. He touched his face, fearing that there were residual rice grains that could have contaminated the operating table.
"With your skill, you're more than capable of performing a surgery like this. However, without me here, you'd have had to wait for a decade before you could do this," Old Chief Physician Pan said quietly.
Zheng Ren understood the underlying meaning of the old chief's words.
There was a gush of warmth in his heart. Was this the taste of home?
Even though the System's rewards were not as generous, with Old Chief Physician Pan and Little Yiren beside him, Sea City General Hospital was much better than Imperial Capital.
His heart overflowing with gratitude, Zheng Ren stepped forward and sat down in front of Old Pan, his voice overcome with emotion and sincerity. "Thank you for everything."
"It's my p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e," Old Chief Physician Pan said with a smile.
"
I'll start my shift tonight so that Yang Lei can get some rest. He should take a few days off since he's been working very hard recently," Zheng Ren said.
"Sure, just call me if there's anything." Old Chief Physician Pan was already tired; as his adrenaline rush receded post-surgery, fatigue caught up with him and made him sluggish.
Zheng Ren informed the Chu sisters to send the old chief home as they had nothing much to do after the operation.
After sending off Old Chief Physician Pan, Zheng Ren thought for a while and returned to the operating theater instead of the emergency ward.
Since the emergency ward was still very early in development, its staff was not yet assigned. There were no anesthesiologists and nurses on assigned shifts; they had to be called in when required.
Xie Yiren and the circulating nurse had finished packing up and were about to leave.
When they saw Zheng Ren, the nurse murmured something into Xie Yiren's ears that made the latter's face flush bright red. With glee, the nurse passed Zheng Ren as she left and whispered, "All the best, Chief Zheng!"
Zheng Ren was well and truly embarrassed.
The operating theater was so quiet that they could nearly hear each other's heartbeats.
Xue Yiren was nervous, her head lowered and her hands trembling a little, but she gripped her sleeve tightly and tried her best to seem as natural as possible.
Zheng Ren was like a log. In such ambiguous situations, he had no idea what to say.
Ages later, Zheng Ren finally broke the silence. "I'll walk you to your car."
His voice echoed in the empty corridor,
in Zheng Ren's heart,
and in Xie Yiren's heart.
"Sure."
They both left the operating theater side by side.
Despite having gotten used to exchanging greetings every morning and night via WeChat, when it came to facing each other in real life, they did not know what to say.
Zheng Ren felt at peace as he walked with Little Yiren. His survival instinct, ingrained into him since childhood, seemed to have never existed at all.
How nice it would be if they could continue walking forever.
Xie Yiren was also quiet. She kept her head lowered, her thoughts opaque.
Although they did not interact or speak with each other, there was no discomfort. They simply continued walking, the smell of hospital disinfectant more intoxicating than the fragrance of spring flowers.
After reaching the bas.e.m.e.nt parking lot, Xie Yiren stood by her car door and said softly, "Goodbye, Zheng… Chief Zheng."
Zheng Ren gathered the courage to raise his arms, wanting to hug her like he did the other day.
However, Xie Yiren ran into her car without giving him a chance to.
This was awkward.
He stood in front of the car with his arms opened, looking like a puppet whose eyes were filled with disappointment and panic.
Xie Yiren waved to him to signal that she was leaving.
The engine of the Volvo XC60 roared deeply as she started the car.
She hesitated upon seeing Zheng Ren standing there, dazed. Instead of shifting into gear and driving off, she stared at him in silence.
Two young people lost and trapped in the forest of love, with no escape in sight.
After a minute had passed, Zheng Ren finally regained his senses. He put his arms down and smiled, signalling Xie Yiren to leave.
She suddenly began to fiddle with a red string at her fair-skinned neck
Zheng Ren was confused.
A heart-shaped pendant made from a micro guide wire appeared at the end of the red string. Xie Yiren placed the simple pendant between her nose and lips and smiled before putting it back into her clothes, close to her c.h.e.s.t.
It was a simple gesture, but it seemed to have taken a chunk out of her, and a sheen of sweat covered her forehead.
She wiped her sweat away and put her hand at her heart, as if telling Zheng Ren that his gift was there.
Then, the Volvo drove off.
Zheng Ren stared at its departing shadow, overjoyed.
It was good to be home.
Chapter 270 - The Clock is Ticking (Part 4 of 5)
The corners of Zheng Ren's mouth curved upwards when he recalled the gesture Xie Yiren had made before she left.
He returned to the emergency ward and saw Yang Lei writing up the operative report.
"Go home, Yang Lei. I'll be taking over tonight's shift," Zheng Ren said.
Yang Lei smirked when he saw Zheng Ren, a hint of mockery and curiosity in his expression.
"How was it?"
"What do you mean by how?"
"There's no one else in the operating theater. It's dark, with two single a.d.u.l.ts who clearly have feelings for each other." Yang Lei's smile grew wider.
"Stop talking nonsense. The operating theater has a surveillance camera." Zheng Ren tried to pretend as if nothing had happened and detracted the man with random excuses.
"That's true." Yang Lei did not try to embarrass Zheng Ren further. Grinning, he added, "A few years back, the cardiothoracic department chief and the matron of the operating theater from The First Affiliated Hospital of Provincial Capital Medical University were caught on tape. If it weren't for his connections, he wouldn't have been able to remove the video from the internet within hours and his scandal would have blown up to an unimaginable scale."
"..." Despite bloviating, Zheng Ren had not expected Yang Lei to persist with the topic and bring it to such a direction.
"I'll take my leave, then." Yang Lei saw Zheng Ren become more uncomfortable, laughed and said, "Also, a chief resident's job is inhuman. I have the urge to quit whenever I think about having to become one for a whole year in order to get a promotion."
"You just need to pull through. You'll be able to perform any surgery after that year," Zheng Ren said, repeating a common aphorism.
Yang Lei shook his head, his expression strange.
"Since you went to Imperial Capital, your skill has surpassed mine by leaps and bounds," Yang Lei said, "Even though I'm an average nobody, my judgment is fairly sound."
"It's no big deal." Zheng Ren laughed.
"Can you guide me through some surgeries? Sea City is my hometown and I'm not going to go anywhere in my lifetime," Yang Lei said seriously. "These days, northeast China is lacking young blood as all the youth have left. The economy is also deteriorating. I'm sure you won't stay for long, either. Can you teach me some skills so that I can still survive after you leave?"
Zheng Ren stared at Yang Lei's earnest gaze and nodded in return.
"I'll leave now," Yang Lei said with a smile, "I really admire those who are naturally gifted, like you and Su Yun; it makes me jealous sometimes."
Naturally gifted? Zheng Ren thought of the System. He was certain that he was definitely not as talented as Su Yun. That guy was the real deal.
But… that was just the way things were.
After seeing Yang Lei off, Zheng Ren talked to the nurse for a moment before heading to the ICU to check on the patient.
Su Yun was chatting with the nurses in the ICU while recording the patient's vitals.
The patient was stable, with a slight increase in blood pressure. Zheng Ren left after a quick once-over.
There were few patients in the emergency ward as he had been absent for a while.
Old Chief Physician Pan still preferred conventional surgery since he was getting old and his ability to learn new things was limited. Also, with his presbyopia, he could never catch up with younger doctors in laparoscopy.
Patients in need of a laparoscopy were usually sent to the inpatient ward behind the building.
Zheng Ren finished his ward rounds and made sure all the patients were stable before blissfully returning to the on-call room, the image of Xie Yiren and the heart-shaped pendant close to her c.h.e.s.t turning over in his mind.
On his phone, he saw Xie Yiren's message reassuring him that she had safely arrived at home.<
br />
Zheng Ren hesitated for a moment before typing out a simple reply.
Both of them had been a little awkward today. Previously, separated by sheer distance, they had plenty of things to say to each other, but now Xie Yiren bade him goodnight after a few words.
Zheng Ren turned off his phone and laid on his bed after washing up.
Groggily, he fell into a slumber and only woke up when the day was in full swing.
It would be wonderful were every shift similar to that of the previous night; impossible as it was, Zheng Ren still held on to hope.
He did his ward rounds and carried out the usual daily morning routines.
Zheng Ren took the opportunity to get to know his patients. Chang Yue was very familiar with each one, smiling and chatting away with them enthusiastically.
At 9.16 a.m., the emergency department paged him for an acute appendicitis patient.
As usual, Zheng Ren gathered his energy and accepted.
There was nothing special about the patient; everything was standard except for their lack of fasting, which resulted in the surgery being scheduled at 12 p.m.
It was no big deal, though. He could just wait for it.
Zheng Ren was already at the operating table at 12 and noticed Xie Yiren's absence. The matron arranged for another scrub nurse to assist him.
"Where's Xie Yiren?" he asked.
"Having lunch with a classmate of hers from the South, apparently," the matron answered.
With the level of staffing in the emergency department, it was considered a huge request for one to take some time off, even for a few hours.
The matron had to take over an incredible workload due to Xie Yiren's absence.
However, that was not Zheng Ren's main concern. He had feared that he had so badly embarrassed Xie Yiren yesterday night with his unreturned gesture that she had resigned, but a visiting classmate was much more relieving.
Love did make people blind.
Even though they had made their feelings clear, he still overthought every tiny detail.
…
….
In one of the top restaurants in Sea City, Xie Yiren was happily chatting with her female classmate beside her.
Sitting opposite them was a gentle, polite and refined middle-aged man—Li Xiaochen.
The Surgeon's Studio c1-799 Page 130
