Zheng Ren worked with caution, always keeping in mind that the mass could be cancer.
"Could you check if the pathologist is here?" Zheng Ren asked the chief resident.
"Sure."
[Whoa! That's an accessory spleen!]
The Xinglin Garden livestream was lively.
[Is the accessory spleen so deep within?]
[I've never seen one in real life but it looks like one.]
[We'll see. Maybe it's a malignant tumor.]
While the surgeon in the video had demonstrated countless successful high-difficulty surgeries, the doctors on Xinglin Garden still approached the livestream with their own individualistic thinking. They did not blindly accept the diagnosis given in the livestream.
Supremacy?
Even the mighty made mistakes.
Independent thinking was essential for a doctor.
Hence, the doctors in the audience maintained a respectful disbelief toward the published diagnosis, but no one doubted the surgeon's skills.
Every surgery thus far had been accurate and precise.
The audience believed the surgeon on camera was from an internationally-acclaimed medical facility in Canada.
There were no other major organs attached to the accessory spleen. Zheng Ren carefully wrapped the spleen with a wet gauze, then palpated his way up the feeder artery.
His motions were gentle and cautious. He felt his way up the abdominal structures that he was familiar with, avoiding pressure on the other organs.
Once he had a clearer picture of what was going on, he prepared for ligation and removal.
[How detailed.]
[Is he following the vine to the melon?]
[More like the melon to the vine, then uprooting the whole plant.]
[Judging from this, the probability of a malignant tumor is low.]
[Agreed, but let's see how the surgery ends. To be honest, in my ten years in general surgery, I've never seen an abnormally long pedicle on an accessory spleen.]
[It does look oddly long.]
The mood in the livestream was not as rowdy as before.
This surgery was rather mild and did not showcase any spectacular skills.
Tracking the artery up to the source and removing the accessory spleen were simple procedures that were not flashy.
The only highlight was the accessory spleen's odd location.
[The surgeon seems to be operating solo again.]
[Oh yeah. However, this procedure seems to be doable without assistance. It's just ligating and removing the accessory spleen. There's no point in having two surgeons.]
[Probably not. In previous streams, the surgeon performed surgeries of higher caliber without any help.]
At this moment, Yang Lei hurriedly entered the operating room.
Noticing the surgery was halfway through, he quickly scrubbed in.
With Yang Lei's help, it was easier to maneuver upstream.
Xie Yiren stood near to the patient's lower body and could only pull the retractor in a single direction. In order to follow the feeder artery, he needed someone at the upper body.
Yang Lei got in position and held the retractor. He observed the scene before asking, "Chief Zheng, is this an accessory spleen?"
It was not his first time seeing an accessory spleen, but this one was odd.
"Yes, it is." The blunt scissors and curved forceps made slow but steady progress upward. He was separating the attachments to the feeder artery all the way to the main trunk.
A call came from the gynecology chief resident. "The pathologist is here."
"Okay. The sample will be out in five minutes," Zheng Ren replied confidently.
Yang Lei felt like a small ant in Zheng Ren's presence.
He had rushed over to the hospital only to find out that the surgery was nearing its end.
Frustrated, he looked at Zheng Ren.
The emergency chief resident was wholly-focused on the operating table, his eyes unblinking.
Yang Lei signed in his heart. How did his appendectomy partner from a few months ago become such a powerhouse?
Clank! The sound of metal on metal echoed. The appendix retractor he held made contact with the forceps.
The retractor in Yang Lei's hand trembled slightly. He lowered his head and cleared his mind.
If something similar had happened with Department Chief Liu, a surgical tool would be striking his head at this moment and he would be barred from surgery for at least a month minimum.
Yang Lei gathered his thoughts and followed Zheng Ren's hands. He retracted a part of the tissue to expand the surgical site.
The feeder artery was long and the minor tissues attached were not heavy. They spotted the torsion at the duodenum.
Zheng Ren did not intend to untangle the knot. Doing so would restore the blood flow through the accessory spleen and allow the acc.u.mulated pus to enter the circulatory system.
[Look! That's the twist.]
[What a long artery. From the looks of it, the twist happened not too long ago. It can only be an accessory spleen. Their diagnosis is incredibly accurate.]
[Yeah, but a histology is needed to confirm this.]
Soon, the surgeon reached the hilum of the spleen.
The feeder artery originated from the hilum.
Zheng Ren reached out and a pair of hemostatic forceps was placed into his hand.
As the incision was short, the retractor was needed to gain access to the target site. Once the retractor was in place, Yang Lei was under to observe the surgery from his angle.
The gynecology chief resident was bent at an angle to watch Zheng Ren's maneuvering.
"Chief Zheng, there's insufficient exposure. Maybe you should widen the incision?" No matter which angle she observed from, it was impossible to see the spleen.
"It's alright," Zheng Ren said with a smile.
Zheng Ren was confident he could remove the organ as long as he could reach it. The first System training on appendectomy taught him that.
Another surgeon would not be able to perform such a feat.
No surgeon would have the opportunity to practice a procedure numerous times on simulation mannequins.
The gynecology chief resident was silent. She did not understand why Zheng Ren refused to widen the incision. Without visual inspection, how could he ascertain what was going on inside?
Just as she was doubting him, Zheng Ren had a hemostatic clamp in his hand.
He asked for a scalpel then got to work. A length of artery was pulled out from the abdominal cavity.
As the separation was clean, he was able to retrieve the elongated vessel along with the necrotized accessory spleen. The organ was then tossed into the surgical tray.
"Send it for frozen section biopsy."
[The real surgery is starting. Is the surgeon not worried something might go wrong?]
[You must be new here.]
[It must be. If one has watched The Night of Appendectomies, one would not be surprised by the surgeon's actions.]
[To be frank, I disagree with the surgeon's methods to this date. Although he is very capable, it is best to err on the side of caution.]
The circulating nurse studied the operating table. Seeing that there were no other instruments needed, she put her gloves on and bagged the surgical and its contents. It was to be sent to the pathology lab.
Zheng Ren reached for a long-handle needle holder with sutures.
He performed the stitching within the small, confined space. The gynecology chief resident and Yang Lei watched him in astonishment.
Their view of the surgical site was obstructed. All they saw was Zheng Ren's hands moving about.
Chu Yanzhi adjusted the surgical lamp to deliver a direct light beam from behind Zheng Ren. The light illuminated the surgical site to give him a better view of the insides.
Suture, knot, snip.
Zheng Ren took the warm saline gauze and covered the surgical site.
The surgery had com
e to a pause as they waited for the pathology results.
If all was well, Zheng Ren would perform a rinse and some stitching to close up the abdomen.
If the results showed malignancy, the cleanup afterward would be unimaginable.
"Chief Zheng, are you sure the stitching will hold?" the gynecology chief resident asked worriedly.
Her concerns were viable as the angle and space Zheng Ren operated in was extremely small.
"No worries," Zheng Ren replied in an easygoing tone. He gave her a confident smile.
"Signs of malignancy?" Yang Lei asked.
"I don't think so. The surface was smooth and there were minimal attachments to the surrounding tissues. If it was a malignant mass attached to the spleen hilum, metastasis would have occurred," Zheng Ren said.
Although Zheng Ren was sure it was not a malignant tumor, he had to follow the standard operating procedure and wait for the frozen section biopsy results.
There was a one in a million chance the System was wrong.
[This half-blind surgery is going well.]
[Guys, how do you think the surgery is being filmed? Where is the camera?]
[We were able to look into the surgical site. It's probably on the surgical lamp?]
[I don't think it's on the surgical lights. If so, there must be multiple cameras. Just now when the lamp moved, we only saw the lighting change but there was no sign of people in the operating room.]
Messages started to fill the screen as they waited for the pathology report.
This was a break in the livestream, allowing the audience to interact with each other. Other times, the surgery carried on without pause.
Whether it was in the operating room or the surgery livestream, the 40 minutes passed with laughter and banter.
A call came from the pathology lab, negative for cancer.
The abdomen was stitched back up and the surgery came to an end.
Chapter 348 - Amigo Veterinary Hospital
The patient roused from total anesthesia and was wheeled out of the operating room.
Zheng Ren changed and headed for the wards. He wanted to check on the patient and give some instructions to the on-call doctor.
Once Little Yiren cleared up the operating room, they could go home. Zheng Ren smiled at that thought.
Suddenly, he remembered they had not eaten dinner.
He reached the patient. She had woken from the anesthesia and was in a stable condition. The numbers on the vital sign monitor proved that Zheng Ren was dependable even when operating blind.
A text came from Xie Yiren. Zheng Ren happily went down to the bas.e.m.e.nt parking lot.
He got into the red Volvo. Before his mind could come up with a conversation topic, his ringtone blared.
The ringing phone suggested a possible emergency surgery. Zheng Ren's heart rate picked up.
He flipped over his phone and checked the caller ID. It was Su Yun.
Zheng Ren's c.h.e.s.t tightened. Had something happen to Yang Lili? It was the only reason Su Yun would be calling him at this hour.
In a flash, Zheng Ren's mind went through every step he made in yesterday's emergency surgery.
He could not find any mistake.
The scene replayed in his mind as he picked up the call.
"Boss, what are you doing?" Su Yun's lazy voice sounded through the phone. He sounded more disgruntled than usual.
"Just wrapped up a surgery. We removed an accessory spleen," Zheng Ren replied.
"Oh! That's rare." A pause. "Are you in Xie Yiren's car?"
Zheng Ren's face flushed.
"Lot 14 on Weier Road. Come quickly," Su Yun said.
"Eh? Did you dial the wrong number?" Zheng Ren asked.
What was this? Su Yun expected him to just go to the address?
"It's Amigo. I'm hanging up. Wait, who assisted in the surgery?"
Zheng Ren was speechless.
Amigo; it sounded like a community veterinary hospital.
Was Su Yun going to operate on animals?
"Chu Yanzhi," Zheng Ren answered.
"Bring Yiren over. If Yiren's not there, get a cab here. Okay, I'm hanging up, I need to speak with Yanzhi."
Su Yun hung up the call before Zheng Ren could ask any more questions.
"What's wrong?" Xie Yiren asked inquisitively.
"Su Yun called to tell me to go to a veterinary hospital called Amigo?" Zheng Ren said, annoyed. It was late and he was not interested in visiting a veterinary hospital.
"The one on Weier Road?" Xie Yiren drove over a bump at full speed. If it were not for the safety belt, Zheng Ren would have hit the car's roof. Xie Yiren continued speaking, "Great, let's go."
Zheng Ren was troubled.
"I've always wanted a dog. A husky, to be exact. However, I don't have the time to take it for walks and can't hire a nanny for the dog every day, so I gave up on the idea," Xie Yiren said as she drove. "I'm glad we get to visit a veterinary hospital."
"It should be for a surgery." Zheng Ren recalled Su Yun's insistent tone on the phone. He wanted the whole emergency department to head down to the veterinary hospital at this hour.
Soon, the car rolled onto Weier Road.
The place was behind the city's busiest commercial street, a highly sought-after real estate area.
Zheng Ren glanced at the central business districts a distance away. He figured some of those might be Xie Yiren's.
Getting a rich girlfriend was quite troublesome.
He did not know if Xie Yiren's parents were nice people to talk to.
He did not know what expectations they had for the daughter's partner.
He did not know…
Zheng Ren's attention drifted.
The car came to a halt. Su Yun stood beside the car and gestured dramatically to welcome them.
The veterinary hospital had a trite name, but the building was beyond Zheng Ren's expectations. The hospital was huge and looked new. Zheng Ren believed a dog shower here would cost no less than 50 yuan.
It actually cost 300 yuan for a long coat dog.
"Boss, name your price," Su Yun said.
Zheng Ren frowned at Su Yun's teasing.
"If you have no request, let's get started. I got called over during my nap. I still have to go to the ICU tomorrow, so a good night's sleep is essential," Su Yun ranted as they walked into the veterinary hospital.
"Brother Yun, this is…" a young woman asked with a warm, sincere smile.
"This is my boss, Zheng Ren. That's his girlfriend and also his scrub nurse, Xie Yiren," Su Yun said.
Xie Yiren's footsteps faltered. Her face turned red.
However, she did not deny or reject the statements made. She lowered her head and trailed behind Zheng Ren.
The introduction also took Zheng Ren by surprise but before he could say anything, the young woman offered her hand and said, "Boss Zheng, nice to meet you. I'm the boss of this veterinary hospital, Shen Xiaoou. You guys can just call me Little Shen."
Zheng Ren took her hand and shook it. Su Yun smirked and said, "Hurry up, the anesthesia has set in. We're just waiting for you."
They reached the third floor. There was a middle-aged man standing outside the operating room. Their arrival elicited no response. The man's eyes were filled with tears.
"Mr. Qin, this is the doctor we've invited. Rest assured, we will do our very best," Shen Xiaoou said.
The middle-aged man bowed multiple times. His sincerity was many times deeper than the families Zheng Ren had met in the hospital.
Zheng Ren could sense the difference. It was staggering.
"Boss, hurry. Once it's done, we can go home," Su Yun urged.
Zheng Ren walked into the operating room in silence. Su Yun said to him, "You can feel the difference, right?"
"Yes," Zheng Ren admitted.
"When I was in Imperial Capital, I did some work in a veterinary hospital. For the six years I was there, I've never witnessed a single medical dispute. You don't even need
to write the patient's history. A surgery costs… Little Ou, how much is the fee?" Su Yun said.
"10.5 thousand," Shen Xiaoou whispered. "This golden retriever has been with the owner for ten years. Grew up with his daughter. The dog is old now but the owner is still willing to pay for the best surgeon."
Zheng Ren was speechless…
The emergency surgery that he had just completed had probably only cost 400-500 yuan. The same procedure in a southern private hospital would not even cost more than 10000 yuan.
The huge difference in surgical fees was another blow to Zheng Ren.
"Ah, you poor thing." Xie Yiren ran to the operating table which held a golden retriever who had long since passed its golden years. Its fur was no longer golden and shiny. It panted heavily as its eyes zoned out of focus. Tears rolled down from its eyes.
"Chu Yanzhi? Why isn't she here? Usually she's the fastest to respond," Su Yun grumbled.
"Didn't you say the anesthesia has already been done?"
"It was a lie to get you moving," Su Yun retorted.
"What's wrong with the poor dog?" Xie Yiren asked as she stroked the dog's head.
"It ate a sock. If the dog was a few years younger, I would have done it myself. At this age, I'd prefer Boss to handle it for better results."
Chapter 349 - The Golden Retriever Who Grew Up With His Daughter
The golden retriever's condition was not ideal. It was suffering from the human equivalent of a bowel obstruction.
The key factor was time and they were slightly behind. Chu Yanzhi got to the scene and quickly started the anesthesia.
Amigo Veterinary Hospital had the simplest of respiratory machines.
The veterinary hospital was large and boasted all types of facilities. However, it was still lacking when compared to a rural human hospital.
Zheng Ren had a suspicion the sterility of the equipment could be called into question.
An intravenous catheter was set up. Chu Yanzhi started to calculate the anesthetic dose, scribbling messy numbers on a piece of paper.
"Boss, what are you thinking? Have you made your considerations?" Su Yun mumbled tiredly.
"I'm still considering," Zheng Ren replied. "There's an upcoming surgery that requires traveling. Are you coming?"
The Surgeon's Studio c1-799 Page 165
