Chapter 275
Chapter 275: Chapter 143: Scaring the Family Leads to a Deal, Director Wen Feels a Bit Uneasy
Zhou Can curled his lips, now Cheng Gang was still able to scold him.
Once he got more exposure in the operating room and his status rose, Cheng Gang would probably have to treat him with a different face.
Following Dr. Ou to talk to the patient’s family.
The patient and his wife were anxiously waiting.
After the cerebral aneurysm rupture was diagnosed, the patient and his family were already extremely anxious. The rapid deterioration of the condition filled them with even more fear.
“Dr. Ou, may I know when will the hospital treat my husband?”
The patient’s wife was so anxious that tears were swirling in her eyes.
From yesterday till now, she had accompanied him without rest for an entire day, with somewhat disheveled hair, unable to even care about grooming.
“You are probably aware of the diagnosis results by now. Indeed, I did not expect his illness to progress so quickly. That aneurysm has ruptured and could be life-threatening at any moment. So, treatment must be administered as soon as possible.”
Almost all doctors, when talking to a patient’s family, would first explain the severity of the situation.
It’s not simply to scare the patient and their family.
But rather to prepare for the worst.
Allowing the family to be psychologically prepared in advance.
If the patient recovers, they will feel that the doctor’s medical skills are exceptional, having saved their life. If not, the family will be somewhat prepared to accept it, avoiding a great psychological impact.
Moreover, by making the situation sound serious, the family is more likely to agree to the proposed treatment plan.
Many patients and their families are particularly fearful of surgeries and often hesitate indefinitely.
The current patient’s condition cannot be delayed any further, and a little intimidation might prevent unnecessary adverse outcomes due to the family’s indecision.
“Doctor, please, you must save my husband!”
The woman said as she was about to kneel.
“No, don’t do this, don’t do this!”
Dr. Ou supported the woman.
“Saving lives and assisting the injured is our duty as doctors. We will certainly find a way to treat your husband. After a discussion by our hospital’s doctors, we have developed two surgical options, and you can listen to them and then choose one.”
Dr. Ou’s conversation with the family was extremely skillful, and Zhou Can had much to learn from it.
For example, even though it was Wu Baihe who had previously informed him about the two surgical options, he told the family that these were discussed by the hospital’s doctors after the diagnosis of brain hemorrhage.
This made it easier for the patient to accept.
“The first option is to perform a traditional open surgery. This involves cutting open the scalp, removing a piece of skull, and then navigating through the spaces in brain tissue to find the aneurysm, clamping it with a specially designed clip, preventing blood from entering the aneurysm. This stops the bleeding and eliminates the threat of the aneurysm. The risk associated with this open surgery is very high, and the recovery period is lengthy.”
“The second option is to perform a new type of interventional surgery for the aneurysm. We would insert a guidewire through the femoral artery, navigate it upstream to the location of the cerebral aneurysm, and place coils to fill the space inside the aneurysm, forming clots around the coils, ultimately stopping the bleeding and neutralizing the threat of the aneurysm. The cost of this procedure is slightly higher than that of the traditional open surgery.”
“However, it is less harmful to the patient, and recovery is faster. Ideally, the patient could be discharged in about three days. Compared to the traditional open surgery’s much longer hospital stay, the savings on hospitalization fees should be enough to offset the difference in treatment costs.”
The two surgical treatment options, the second is a technique that has only begun to develop in recent years.
Domestically, the technology lags far behind the international standard.
Compared to traditional surgery, emerging interventional and robotic surgeries indeed hold more advantages.
Interventional surgeries cause minimal trauma and allow quick recovery, which benefits patients with a low capacity for surgical tolerance greatly.
For example, patients who are very old or too weak, where doctors would not dare to perform an open surgery. In the past, such patients could only accept conservative treatment.
Which roughly meant awaiting death.
Now, however, they have the option of interventional surgery, which could potentially save their lives.
“Dr. Ou, may I ask how much it would cost to perform interventional surgery on my husband?”
For the average family, the cost of treatment is a common concern.
“His aneurysm is quite large, but fortunately, there is only one. The cost is conservatively estimated to be around 120,000 yuan. However, you are aware, the situation in surgery can change instantaneously. Once on the operating table, what we doctors consider is how to save the patient’s life, how to cure the patient, and the cost will only be calculated by the financial department after the surgery is completed.”
Dr. Ou’s quote was also an estimate based on similar surgeries performed in the past.
“What about the cost for traditional surgery?”
The patient’s wife asked again.
“Approximately between 60,000 to 80,000 yuan.”
Indeed, the price of traditional surgery is quite a bit cheaper than interventional surgery.
However, considering the lengthy hospital stay and the high risk of the surgery, interventional surgery is clearly more advantageous if financial conditions allow.
The woman conferred quietly with her husband.
Their family seemed to fall into the middle class.
As the couple appeared to be well-educated. Her dress and demeanor were much like those of urban white-collar beauties.
They definitely could come up with over a hundred thousand yuan.
There should be some coverage from medical insurance as well.
“We choose to go with the interventional surgery.”
She had come to a decision after the discussion.
“Alright, I’ll immediately start making arrangements for you. Before the surgery, you’ll need to deposit the money into your account with the hospital. When will you be able to have the funds ready?”
Dr. Ou asked.
Without the money being deposited, the hospital generally would not arrange for surgery.