Chapter 458
The patient was led into the operating room, where the anesthesiologist and nurses were already prepared. Zhou Can assisted the anesthesiologist in administering anesthesia to the patient. “Does this patient have obvious malnutrition and need a central venous catheter for total parenteral nutrition support?” Zhou Can asked for the anesthesiologist’s opinion. “Yes!” Anesthesiologists were now familiar with Zhou Can and got along well with him. “In this situation, we could also perform dilation therapy to enable the patient to take liquid food orally.” He taught Zhou Can some methods to deal with such cases. After listening humbly, Zhou Can began to carry out various cannulations on the patient. He was very diligent in his work, which was one of the reasons why many anesthesiologists liked him. As the anesthesia was nearly ready, Hee Hansheng rushed in with two resident doctors, followed closely by Deputy Director Liu with his interns and two trainee doctors entering the operating room. Deputy Director Liu glanced at the clock on the wall, six minutes past nine. “The surgery is about to start; how come there are still two people missing?” His team was supposed to have six official doctors. With two people missing, it immediately felt much quieter. “Song Ze has already joined Director Yang Qing’s team, and resident doctor Hong Zhengbo has joined Director Tang’s group to be responsible for patient care. They didn’t have the courage to tell you in person and asked me to inform you,” Hee Hansheng said cautiously, worried that Deputy Director Liu, being advanced in years, might suffer from high blood pressure or a heart attack, which could be troublesome. For Deputy Director Liu, it was a great hurt to see two doctors he personally trained leave at a critical moment to join other groups. Their actions were no different from betrayal. However, everyone has the right to choose their own future, so their actions were somewhat unethical but not against the rules. Deputy Director Liu didn’t show much emotion upon hearing this. After a silence of twenty or thirty seconds, he finally said, “Now is a very good time to join other groups. Each group needs to fight for more surgeries; adding one more person means getting more work done. If any of you think about leaving, you should seize this opportunity. Otherwise, joining a top-ranked group would be difficult under normal circumstances.” The stronger the group, the more stringent the requirements for new members. Without real skills, teams like Director Yang Qing’s, which are highly ranked, wouldn’t consider taking them. “Alright, let’s start the surgery!” Deputy Director Liu seemed to be affected emotionally. He appeared more aged. A man not yet sixty looked like one in his late eighties or nineties. Standing at the chief surgeon’s position by the operating table, Deputy Director Liu had the nurse help him don sterile gloves and checked the incisions marked on the patient’s body. “When encountering such surgical patients, you must check for pulmonary infections pre-operatively. If present, you cannot proceed with the surgery,” Deputy Director Liu shared his valuable surgical experience with everyone. These experiences were learned through bitter lessons. There were too many accidents from the predecessors in surgery. “In addition to checking for pulmonary infections, pay attention to the patient’s esophagus. Food retention in the esophagus can easily lead to inflammation of varying degrees. That’s why I require the resident doctor to insert a gastric tube and clean the esophagus every night for three days before the surgery and to instill an antibiotic solution afterward.” Deputy Director Liu continued to share practical knowledge. “Three days before surgery, I followed your instructions and cleaned the esophagus with a gastric tube for the patient every night. I repeated it again just before anesthesia,” Zhou Can replied. Repeating it before anesthesia is to clear overnight secretions and keep the gastric tube in place. Patients like this should not take drugs in pill or tablet form prior to surgery. Otherwise, it may pose a danger. “Xiao Zhou is still someone we can rely on.” Deputy Director Liu looked at Zhou Can, finally revealing a slight smile of reassurance. Zhou Can was the most talented among all his doctors. He was very earnest, hardworking, and learned quickly. “The incision is generally made on the left upper abdomen, just off to the side of the midline, extending up to the xiphoid process.” Deputy Director Liu began to make the abdominal incision for the patient. As the incision was made, his body wavered. This scared everyone. This was no joking matter; they were in the midst of surgery. The knife in the doctor’s hands could save lives if used properly or take lives if mishandled. “Director Liu, are you okay?” Zhou Can and Hee Hansheng quickly supported him. The two were essentially Deputy Director Liu’s right-hand men. “I might have had breakfast a bit too early this morning and now feel a bit hungry. Hansheng, can you and Xiao Zhou cooperate to complete this surgery?” Deputy Director Liu gazed at them earnestly. Such a situation had never occurred before. It wasn’t because he had breakfast too early but rather the departure of Song Ze and the other resident doctor that deeply wounded him. The elderly can’t handle such stress. Zhou Can and Hee Hansheng knew this all too well but obviously wouldn’t be foolish enough to openly acknowledge it. “Don’t worry; I have observed many cardioplasty procedures under your guidance, and with Dr. Zhou’s assistance, we can definitely perform this surgery well,” Hee Hansheng reassured Deputy Director Liu confidently.