Surgery Godfather-Chapter 486 - 442: A Complete Mess_2

Thus, only after repeated failures, could a proficient cardiac surgeon evolve.

By the time of Professor Li, it was indeed the golden age of cardiac surgery, where teachers could guide through every step, avoiding patients from making huge sacrifices.

Having emerged from a background in orthopedics as an instrument nurse, Su Yixuan had undergone training in various surgical procedures. However, she was unfamiliar with the first half of this surgery. Nevertheless, that was not a problem.

Yang Ping pointed out a set of surgical procedure illustrations for her. She simulated the entire operation in her mind according to the illustrations. She even imagined herself assisting in the surgery and handing out the equipment piece by piece, envisioning how to assist the chief surgeon if a sudden accident occurred, so as to avoid mishandling the equipment.

The chief surgeon was most afraid of misdelivery of the equipment. Sometimes a sharp instrument could pierce through the gloves and injure the doctor’s hands. Many surgeons went through such experiences, and occasionally, the patients carried infectious diseases like hepatitis B.

To prevent such accidents, certain surgical rules were innovatively set. Sharps like scalpels, sutures, and syringes couldn’t be handed directly to the lead surgeon. Instrument nurses were only allowed to place them in a transfer dish, from which the lead surgeon picked them up.

After such reform, as per a survey, the risk of lead surgeons getting injured by sharps was greatly reduced.

Therefore, being a doctor is also a high-risk profession.

Perhaps born into a medical family and being exposed to it since childhood endowed Su Yixuan with medical talent, she quickly grasped the coordination of the surgery.

Moreover, Yang Ping patiently explained to her every detail of the surgery, thereby not just enabling her to understand what was happening, but also why it was happening.

To reinforce her understanding further, Yang Ping simulated the entire operation on an empty operating table and demonstrated how to pass the medical instruments and respond to unexpected incidents.

Sometimes, both Yang Ping and Su Yixuan felt that this was their unique way to "coexist".

Liang Fatty’s skillset improved progressively. Working with Yang Ping brought immense respect and substantial income, putting his professional life into a virtuous cycle.

Fatty always liked to wear cropped pants, displaying his ankles which hung above. This had become his symbolic attire.

Being Yang Ping’s designated anesthetist, his worth skyrocketed. No less than three head nurses proposed to introduce their female friends to him, and even an aunt from the medical records room often approached Liang Fatty to introduce excellent young women to him.

It is said that Fatty had been on several blind dates, many of whom had impressive conditions such as being civil servants, teachers, or bank clerks.

If it were in the past, Fatty would’ve been thrilled to the core, couldn’t wait to get married immediately, fearing that missing this opportunity would ruin his life.

However, with his rising value, Fatty’s concept of choosing a mate has changed and he has grabbed the initiative. He was no longer in a rush, instead taking his time to choose.

When finding a partner, since it is a blind date, the girl has to scrutinize him, whether he has a house, its size, whether or not it’s fully paid or on installment, whether he has a car, its brand, the car loan installment, his salary, the occupation of his parents, and how many siblings he has.

Likewise, Fatty had his own criteria. Those below 165 cm were directly ruled out. Those overweight, or who didn’t fit the beauty standards at first sight wouldn’t get a second chance. Holding a master’s degree was a priority, and anything less than that was a disadvantage.

With his skillful and elegant maneuvers, Fatty treated tracheal intubation not as a mere technical practice, but as a kind of acrobatics. He wanted to play it to a certain height, to achieve a certain level of skill.

In order to keep up with Doctor Yang, he started to lose weight a long time ago. He insisted on running daily and going to the gym, spending at least an hour there daily. The private training fees had become a major expenditure each month.

He wanted to change himself and even got a tattoo on his upper arm: Change!

After performing a jaw-thrust, and leaning the head back to open the airway, Fatty gently inserted the tracheal tube, causing nearly no pressure or friction on the surrounding mucosa. The movement was smooth.

His hands coordinated quickly, managing the tracheal intubation in a few seconds.

Unlike his usual casual self, Fatty looked serious this time. After all, professionals from large hospitals were observing. He couldn’t afford to embarrass himself.

He connected the anesthesia machine, and the anesthetic gas followed with each breath into the lung’s air sac causing the patient to enter the anesthesia state.

Fatty then gave an OK sign, confidently.

Since so many people were watching, let them witness the expertise of Doctor Yang’s designated anesthetist at this point, Doctor Liang Fatty, a Ph.D. graduate from Huaxi Medical School, sitting at the head of the patient, began to record the various data clearly.

About his cropped pants, both Zhang Lin and Little Five had adviced him that they looked too casual and unprofessional.

However, he had gotten used to wearing them. Longer pants were uncomfortable around the ankles, so he had to make do. Except for special occasions, he wore cropped pants all 365 days in a year. It was his standard outfit.

Professor Li played the role of an assistant, while Song Zimo and Xu Zhiliang served as retractor holders. This time, there were no spots for the two retraction experts, so they had to do odd jobs beneath the table.

As retraction experts, Doctor Lu Xiaowu and Doctor Zhang Lin planned to collaborate on a book called "Hooking Techniques in Surgery." They’ve looked it up seriously; no such monograph currently exists. If they could publish one, it would certainly stir up excitement and establish the two brothers’ status in the medical field.

They’ve already contacted the publisher’s intermediaries. The two doctors have started amassing information, planning to cover the history of retraction, basic knowledge, working principles, training methods, surgical practice, how to use retractors without harming blood vessels and nerves, the correct position of the hook and the hand, and how to save energy while handling retractors effectively.

Many scattered pieces of knowledge about retraction have become outdated. Doctors Lu and Zhang plan to examine retraction as a systematic discipline within their book, presenting a copious amount of illustrations and case studies.

Indeed, retraction is a discipline of its own. Otherwise, those in charge of operating retractors on the surgical platform are forever pulling and intermittently being rebuked!

If difficulties arise during surgery, those in charge of the retractors are invariably scapegoated. Visibility is hard to achieve.

"Coming up, we’ll move onto the spinal surgery. You two will take up retraction on the platform!"

This is what Dr. Yang said while looking at the dispirited duo.

The two doctors immediately perked up. They have been training for this moment. If they didn’t step up to the platform at this point, they wouldn’t be at peace.

After the heart and the major blood vessels’ surgeries, treatment of the liver, bile, spleen, and pancreas was next, followed by corrective spinal surgery.

For spinal surgery, naturally, Song Zimo or Xu Zhiliang’s assistant would be operating, and the professional retraction experts—Reactor Heroes—would take over retraction.

The sterile drape was already in place, covering the patient entirely. All that was visible was a tiny area called the ’operative field,’ which was the location of the incision.

Everyone assumed their positions, performing a ceremonial verification before surgery began.

The major surgery was about to commence. This surgical approach consisted of opening up the thorax and abdomen, revealing all the organs—the heart, major blood vessels, liver, bile duct, pancreas, and others.

The pulsating heart would be flipped back and forth in the surgeon’s hand, with clotted major blood vessels being separated under the scalpel. If any rupture were to occur, blood would spurt out, splashing onto the surgical lamp or someone’s face.

The sharp scalpel was placed in the transposition treasury. Yang Ping reached out and picked up the scalpel handle.

In order to ensure maximum exposure, the most invasive approach had to be used. A sternotomy was performed—cutting straight through the centerline of the chest, followed by the splitting open of the sternum on both sides to uncover the thorax.

This was similar to lifting the hood of a car and seeing the engine and all the various components laid out for the engineers to inspect.

The simple sternal saw turned out to be an effective tool; when activated, the sternum cleanly split into two halves through the emerging blood mist.

"Rib spreader!"

The rib spreader was inserted into the thoracic cavity, spreading apart to the two sides, revealing the heart, major blood vessels, and both lungs within the field of vision.

Through protective glasses, the pulsing heart was in view. This pulsing seemed more like squirming, rhythmically driving life.

A suction device was used to remove the fluid inside. It was indeed a mess in there, with severe adhesion.

"It’s like an old mud hut that’s collapsed and been mixed numerous times with rainwater. Everything is stuck together, and it’s impossible to distinguish anything."

Professor Li shuddered.

Even as a top cardiovascular specialist in the world, faced with such conditions, one would hesitate unless they disregard the patient’s life and death.

Professor Li looked up, his eyes meeting Yang Ping’s: It’s more serious than imagined. Shall we proceed with the surgery?

However, Yang Ping showed no signs of stopping.

"Scalpel!"

The round knife was replaced by a sharp one, commencing the separation of the adhesions.