This doctor is already middle-aged, and he's only just started practicing medicine.

Chapter 13 Business Expansion! ~ (Please add to your favorites and read on!)

"Dr. Lu, will our emergency operating room routinely perform tendon suture surgeries from now on?"

“When I gave our head nurse the surgery schedule before, she kept asking questions. I heard that even the orthopedics department is afraid to perform this kind of surgery anymore.” Wang Limin walked side by side with Lu Cheng from the operating room to the changing room, her eyes glancing sideways at Lu Cheng's profile, her gaze lingering…

In hospitals, doctors who can still look handsome while working long hours are already extremely rare. If they also have some skills, they can fulfill most people's real 'fantasy' about surgeons.

Lu Cheng shook his head, his voice calm: "Limin, conventional surgery is not an option."

"To be more precise, my current suturing technique can only handle zone 4 of the flexor tendons and zones 4 and 6 of the extensor tendons."

"If we don't talk about high requirements, the flexor tendon area 1 and the extensor tendon area 2 can be barely handled."

"Tendon injuries elsewhere?" Lu Cheng shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips. "If you encounter that, just run..."

"Huh? Different tendon ruptures require different surgeries?" Wang Limin was extremely surprised.

Although she had studied nursing professionally, when it came to core medical knowledge, she still felt that her brain was not up to the task.

Lu Cheng was a professional orthopedic resident. Although he didn't accumulate much technical skills, he had read a lot of books. His knowledge of orthopedics (proficient 8/10) and basic theory of hand surgery (proficient 7/10) was not acquired out of thin air, nor was it without substance.

The reason why there are so many pits in tendon sutures is that the flexor and extensor tendons of the upper and lower limbs have their own unique zones. Depending on the zone and the different flexor and extensor tendons, the preferred and secondary suturing techniques are different.

The flexor tendons in the hand alone are divided into 5 zones, and the extensor tendons into 8 zones. The flexor and extensor tendons in the lower limbs are each divided into 5 zones, each corresponding to a different suturing technique.

The reason why tendon suturing is so difficult, and why it is hard to get started and even harder to master, lies precisely in this.

"Yes, tendon surgery in orthopedics involves the most anatomical locations of all surgical fields. I only dare to perform surgery on some very narrow tendon ruptures, not many."

Lu Cheng then took a deep breath: "Limin, thank you for today. It was quite tiring assisting me with my first surgery."

Surgeons dislike inexperienced circulating and scrub nurses, and similarly, circulating and scrub nurses dislike inexperienced surgeons.

Because of his lack of experience, this was his first time performing surgery, so the procedure will definitely take much longer than that of a more experienced surgeon.

"It's alright, it's only been a little over an hour, it's not that long."

"Dr. Lu, I'm going off duty now. I've made plans to see a movie with a friend. I'll be leaving now." Wang Limin stood at the door of the nurses' changing room, her hands behind her back, exuding an air of pride, but her tone was amiable.

"See you next time." Lu Cheng also walked towards the doctor's changing room.

Wearing surgical scrubs, Lu Cheng didn't need to change into his casual clothes and white coat. As an emergency room doctor, surgical scrubs were the most convenient attire.

As the sun gradually set, dappled shadows of tree branches streamed through the window, scattered yet ruthlessly crushed by Lu Cheng's footsteps. However, even after Lu Cheng had stepped on them, the dappled shadows remained, not disappearing with his departure.

“Professor Chen, Xiao Lu is out too. He looks so happy, like he’s in love. I wonder if some girl in the operating room asked him out.” Zhang Tiesheng stood beside Chen Song, speaking politely and cautiously.

"Your first impression was pretty good, right?" Chen Song's tone was playful, and his speed was quite high.

"Thank you, Professor Chen, for your careful guidance and kindness. Otherwise, I would not have dared to bring the patient up on stage so easily."

"I should have watched Professor Chen operate a few cases before I started," Lu Cheng replied calmly, without trying to outdo Chen Song. Surgical training and the actual operation of a surgery are, in principle, much more complicated than the current procedures. Even if Chen Song proved that Lu Cheng could operate the surgery, he should have guided him through a few cases, allowing Lu Cheng to become familiar with the local procedures before gradually letting him operate on his own.

But this was the pace of surgery decentralization at Xiangya No. 2 Hospital. In the county hospital, the teaching process was so 'simple and crude' that Chen Song was too lazy to go through these 'procedures' anymore.

Of course, the main reason is that Chen Song has absolute confidence to back Lu Cheng up.

Chen Song had already taken off his work clothes, now wearing a shirt and trousers, and his demeanor was much more approachable than when he was wearing a white coat: "Xiao Lu, Dr. Zhang and I are going to go home for dinner first. You'll have to take care of your own dinner."

"If there's surgery later, just call Dr. Zhang directly."

Chen Song's shifts are only from 8:00 to 5:30, which is nine and a half hours, and that is already considered 'excessive working hours'.

He was a doctor sent to the countryside for support, not a beast of burden at the county hospital. It was a favor if he performed some surgeries, and his duty if he didn't. Ensuring that Chen Song had enough rest time during his support period was his absolute freedom...

Lu Cheng is not Chen Song; he is a senior professor at a higher-level hospital.

According to the rules, he should have been assigned to the same shifts as everyone else: emergency room shift, ward shift, assistant shift, day shift, night shift, and night shift!

This was the duty roster rule, and Professor Chen Song was the one who broke it. He personally selected Lu Cheng to work with him throughout the entire shift, leaving Lu Cheng only with the "day shift" in the ward.

If Lu Cheng only works the day shift, then he's taking advantage of the situation. Chen Song can be special, but can Lu Cheng be so special and superior?

Of course not, so Lu Cheng took on the night shift as well, and didn't return until midnight.

After a day of rest, I will catch up with Professor Chen Song's pace.

Lu Cheng was still getting the better deal this way, since he didn't have to work the night shift and therefore didn't have to stay up all night. But this was the best solution Lu Cheng could think of.

After watching the two leave, Lu Cheng rushed back to the ward to begin writing the surgical records for the recently operated patient.

This is part of the 'duty' of a chief surgeon. Performing surgery alone and writing surgical records independently are also part of the 'prestige' of a county hospital, representing that your absolute ability has reached a certain level.

……

“Brother Zhuang, this tendon rupture can’t be treated. It’s in zone 7 of the extensor tendon. We need to use the sliding Jinxia method, or at least know the modified Tang method. We need to transfer him to another hospital immediately…” Lu Cheng shook his head, dispelling the patient’s wish to avoid the transfer.

"That won't work either. The rupture of the lower limb flexor tendon in zone A3 is at the transition between the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. It requires Pulvertaft weaving or fascia embedding reinforcement. You can ask the on-call orthopedic doctor."

"For a fracture at the inferior pole of the patella to the tibial tuberosity, the patellar drilling and anchoring method or an 8-strand Krackow fixation is needed, which requires medullary tract fixation. Dr. Peng from the orthopedics department can perform this, but I cannot do it at the moment..."

"Yes, this can be treated. This is a ruptured extensor tendon in zone 4. The best option is the modified Kessler suture technique."

Lu Cheng waited for three whole days before finally getting his "spell" into range at 7 p.m. on July 12, his "rest day"!
Lu Cheng works the day shift in the ward on odd-numbered days, while other doctors take turns on duty at other times. Today, the doctor on duty in the ward is Han Xiaoping, whose tone is somewhat conflicted: "Lu Cheng, you should have been resting today."

"Director Lin said I could call you, since our department's business has expanded."

"Are you willing to go into the operating room?" Han Xiaoping's voice was more humane.

(End of this chapter)