Chapter 202
This is precisely why novice nurses and doctors simply don’t qualify to be on duty in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Because it truly tests the abilities of doctors and nurses to handle various emergency situations. This requires extensive experience, solid medical knowledge, and proficient resuscitation skills.
Nearly all of the ICUs in hospitals are staffed with the elite medical teams of the hospital.
Facing the exploitation by Doctor He, Zhou Can actually had no room to bargain.
He could only comply.
Zhou Can familiarized himself with the conditions of the patients in each bed.
The patients and their families generally had a cold attitude towards such a young doctor.
These days, patients and their families are very shrewd.
During morning rounds when the heads and attending physicians visited, they were surrounded by a clamorous crowd; they knew that those who were in charge had arrived.
One by one, they showed ingratiating smiles and were very enthusiastic in their attitudes.
They answered whatever was asked.
After Zhou Can had visited the patients in ten beds, Doctor He, who was in charge of the beds, had already left.
The doctor in charge of the beds needed to prescribe orders for the patients, review the medical records written by interns and resident trainees, write their own summaries, and promptly report any abnormal patient conditions to the senior doctors, and so on.
They had a lot of tasks.
Sometimes, if a patient had some kind of emergency, the nurse or intern doctor would call for him, and he would have to rush over to check and properly manage it.
Zhou Can returned to the bed of the woman who had just had her cast, and checked the cast.
The plaster had set.
It was relatively hard to the touch.
The woman was still there groaning, screaming that she was going to die.
Her son was only concerned with the game on his phone, neither urging the doctors about when the surgery would be scheduled, nor seeking a doctor to give his mother a painkiller shot.
Zhou Can shook his head and looked at the middle-aged man in the bed next to him who had just undergone surgery.
At this moment, the middle-aged man was still closing his eyes, sleeping.
From his blinking eyelids and the occasional movement of his head, he seemed to be not really asleep.
“How are you feeling? Are you experiencing any discomfort after the surgery?”
Zhou Can just asked out of habit.
When he was an intern in charge of beds before, he was also responsible in the same way.
He would check on his assigned beds from time to time and take the initiative to inquire about the patients’ conditions.
“Everything else is fine, but my husband keeps complaining about some swelling and pain in his left leg.”
She reported to Zhou Can.
“Generally, experiencing swelling, soreness, or numbness after surgery is normal. There’s no need to be too worried.”
Zhou Can reassured the family.
“Doctor, it feels like there’s a big bug wriggling around inside my leg. It’s particularly unbearable.”
The man opened his eyes.
Potentially due to poor sleep over a long period of time, in addition to his injuries, his vitality was greatly depleted, and his eyes were bloodshot.
His overall spirit also appeared to be quite poor.
“Let me check it for you.”
Zhou Can lifted the cover to examine the man’s leg. The area that had been crushed had undergone surgery and was wrapped in gauze.
This was to prevent the wound from being infected.
The specifics of the surgical procedure were unclear, but it was certain that the bone fractures had to be aligned. Use of steel plates and screws was possible. Blood vessels, nerves, and tendons all needed anastomosis and repair.
The damaged muscles needed to be removed.
You could imagine how complex this surgery was.
Below the site of the patient’s surgery, the ankle and foot, had more wrinkles in the skin than usual. The color was significantly paler than that of the upper part of the surgical site, such as the knee and thigh.
However, there was some blood color.
This indicated that the blood circulation should be fine.
At worst, it was simply a bit poor post-surgery.
Zhou Can touched the patient’s right foot, and the temperature was alright. Slightly below the normal body temperature.
It seemed that the surgery was very successful.
After the surgery, if the blood circulation was not problematic and the temperature of the amputated part could recover, it was almost certain to heal.
“Can you feel anything when I touch the top of your foot?”
Zhou Can asked the patient.
“Yes! It’s just slightly numb.” The patient replied.
Zhou Can nodded, focusing on observing the patient’s ankle and other areas.
There were some purple discolorations, hidden under the skin.
They looked a bit like subcutaneous veins.
Zhou Can initially thought so.
But when he tried to touch the area just above the patient’s ankle, he clearly felt a firmer, stiffer sensation.
Based on experience, this was the feel of swelling.
“Overall, your condition seems quite good. There seems to be some swelling at the ankle, and I will come to check on you every two hours. Please rest assured.”
Zhou Can said to the patient.
Postoperative swelling is related to various factors.
It is both normal and potentially abnormal.
Further observation is needed, depending on how long the swelling persists.
Zhou Can thought it would be best to report this patient’s condition to the doctor in charge of the bed.
He walked toward the doctor’s office.
On the way, he pondered the situation of the middle-aged man’s left leg near the surgical site, where there was swelling and faint purple discoloration on the inside of the ankle.
What did this indicate?
The surgery had clearly been successful.
The blood circulation was flowing well, and the temperature of the foot was also acceptable.
You can’t learn this kind of situation from medical texts. You must diagnose and consider it for yourself.
During these three months in the emergency surgery room, Dr. Xu had given him a lot of guidance.
Coupled with the accumulation of surgical experience.
Zhou Can’s diagnostic ability had significantly improved from the past.
“Could it be necrosis due to prolonged ischemia at the distal part of the limb?”
That was a possibility.
The phenomena of post-mortem lividity and hypostasis, as seen in corpses, matched up with the swelling and purple discoloration at the distal end of the patient’s left limb.
Moreover, ischemic necrosis is difficult for doctors to detect in a short period of time.