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

Chapter 57 Letting Go of Obsession…

"Is this what you call bao mian? Not wonton or chao shou?" Chen Song, who only works odd-numbered days off and only even-numbered days off, met up with Lu Cheng early at a breakfast shop.

Lu Cheng brought over a plate of 'chili peppers': "Teacher Chen, is it alright for you? If it is, I'll ask the owner to bring you another bowl."

Lu Cheng and Chen Song were both eating noodles. The dining room was spacious, and since the sun hadn't yet risen, there were only seven or eight people in the room, and the breeze was blowing around to dissipate the heat from the diners' breakfast.

Baomian is actually wonton, but the skin is thicker than wonton and the filling is larger than that of wonton. It is a unique way of eating in the border area near Longxian County.

"I don't need another bowl, it's just too numbing. The beef bone broth is quite thick and tastes good." Chen Song gave a very objective review, then popped another piece into his mouth.

After the broth bursts open, a unique flavor splashes into the mouth.

“Tong Yuan’an hasn’t been to the emergency department for three days. You’ve been handling all the tendon sutures for the past few days.”

"Was he taken away by Peng Kun for special training? Should I ask him for you?" Chen Song secretly glanced at Lu Cheng's expression.

Today is August 13th. Judging by the time, Peng Kun from the orthopedics department should be coming out of the training room soon and starting to work on tendon suturing.

Peng Kun's surgical training is different from that of a typical master's student. He can focus entirely on practice, unlike doctoral and master's students who also have to work with their supervisors and produce research papers.

A greater amount of time can be devoted to intensive training in a short period of time.

"No need, Teacher Chen. Teacher Tong has his own plans, right?" Lu Cheng's eyes flickered.

He never expected that his last visit to Tong Yuan'an's house would not only silence him but also prevent him from coming to the emergency room.

I imagine Tong Yuan'an must be feeling extremely upset...

As both being new suturing techniques, Tong Yuan'an, as one of the original creators, must have been exposed to and practiced suturing techniques before Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng, on the other hand, not only surpassed Professor Tajima in just ten days, but also utterly destroyed the suturing technique that Professor Tajima was so proud of and wanted to rival.

Although, according to Professor Tajima's article, the 'tong' method has a slight advantage.

But Mu Nanshu said that comparing it with a slightly superior sewing technique is like taking off your pants to fart; it doesn't produce any statistical significance.

Therefore, Tong Yuan'an must thoroughly modify and reshape his techniques, and work with several professors from the Department of Hand Surgery at Xiangya Hospital to carefully refine his routines before daring to release them again.

Otherwise, if Lu Cheng learns both suturing techniques and becomes proficient in both, and ultimately gets a score of 96/95, then it would be a case of Tong Yuan'an's team trying to extort Professor Tajima.

That's not how you do clinical research.

"Do you know why?" Chen Song raised his chin with a hint of curiosity and pulled out a tissue to wipe the corner of his mouth.

"That should be it, on the 10th..." Lu Cheng briefly recounted what happened on the 10th.

Chen Song's eyes immediately lit up, his arched eyebrows straightened by his skin: "Detailed explanation..."

Lu Cheng then had no choice but to repeat it in even more detail.

"Haha, serves you right!~"

Chen Song slapped his thigh: "Let him show off! He really thinks he can get away with anything just because he has some ability!"

"If you dare to call something an original operation a technique, then surgical techniques would be as numerous as hairs on a cow if they were so easy to create."

"Many professors spend their entire lives taking pride in creating a technique in their own field."

"I thought Tong Yuan'an really had such abilities!" Chen Song mocked without any politeness.

Previously, Chen Song didn't dare to say much, mainly because Tong Yuan'an was really quite outstanding. Chen Song chose to believe what he said first, so he remained silent.

This caused a problem, and Chen Song then pointed out the difficulty of creating an original technique to Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng remained silent after listening.

That seems to be the case. Take tendon suturing techniques, for example. Whether it's the Kessler method, the Tang method, or the Tsushita suturing technique, they are all the culmination of a top professor's lifelong understanding and the output of at least most of his life's work.

Even if the Tang method is more effective than the modified Kessler method, it cannot be said to replace it in every anatomical location. Naturally, such a thing is too far removed from Lu Cheng's reality.

Lu Cheng said, "Teacher Chen, this kind of thing is something that tall people have to use their brains for. Anyway, my task is to learn whatever you teach, Teacher Chen and Teacher Tong!"

"If I learn it well, it will benefit the patients more, so I will use it on the patients."

"While the current Tajima suture technique may not be suitable for this research project, it can likely be applied to most tendon sutures, especially the Achilles tendon."

"It's a pity that Achilles tendon repair has always been a surgery performed by orthopedic surgeons, and patients have a good chance of recovery," Lu Cheng sighed.

County hospitals are, after all, just county hospitals, and the number of patients is not large, so the types of diseases that the orthopedics department can handle are really hard for Lu Cheng to compete for.

Playing the game of undermining and praising in the county hospital will only ruin Lu Cheng and drive others to their doom.

"Since the orthopedics department is doing well, don't cause any unnecessary trouble. You went through the same thing yourself."

"Surgery becomes more and more skillful with practice, and techniques improve with each repetition. We should leave others some room and opportunity to grow."

"This is called leaving room for maneuver."

"Spleen-preserving surgery, gallbladder-preserving surgery, there are quite a few surgeries you can learn, and no one will be competing with you for these," Chen Song instructed in detail.

Doctors in county hospitals certainly need to grow, and to grow, they inevitably need patients to perform surgeries on them.

"Yes, I know, Teacher Chen."

"I've never neglected learning the techniques for preserving the spleen and gallbladder!" Lu Cheng glanced at his two techniques.

【保脾术（熟练3/10）（+2）、保胆术（熟练2/10）（+1）、保肝术（熟练1/10）（+4）】

These surgical techniques were not acquired through additional training by Lu Cheng, but rather improved naturally as he followed Professor Chen Song in performing surgeries, completing local procedures, experiencing the feel of the techniques, and becoming familiar with the surgical process.

Of course, Chen Song's guidance was also quite crucial.

The better your basic skills are, the easier it will be to learn surgery. So, Lu Cheng plans to improve his basic skills as much as possible whenever he's not in a rush.

For example, if the opportunity arises, he wants to take over the laparoscopic surgery that is currently the mainstream in general surgery, and then perform the surgery on patients using minimally invasive techniques, which can reduce the postoperative burden.

That's another significant source of skill points...

"Lu Cheng, Tong Yuan'an won't be coming to the emergency room," Chen Song said when Lu Cheng was in a good mood.

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng suddenly looked up, his expression somewhat fearful.

Chen Song explained, "There are three reasons. First, he let go of his obsession and admitted that his skills were indeed inferior. Second, he taught you their hospital's suturing techniques and the Tajima suturing technique without making you pay too high a price."

"It can be considered a fair exchange, albeit a round trip."

"Third, Tong Yuan'an is not able to make any further breakthroughs in his skills for the time being, so investing time in it would be meaningless."

"Tong Yuan'an's mission in Longxian this time is to go to the countryside to perform orthopedic surgery, so... he will be taking Peng Kun to perform hand surgery procedures such as tendon suturing and flap suturing in the orthopedics department in the future."

Lu Cheng nodded and said to Chen Song, "Teacher Chen, I understand. I will not treat tendon rupture cases again before Professor Tong leaves."

Peng Kun made progress in his studies and reached the threshold of tendon suturing. Tong Yuan'an let go of his 'obsession', taught what he needed to teach, and gave the remaining 'tong' method tendon suturing materials and teaching videos to Lu Cheng.

He had no obligation to continue mentoring Lu Cheng like a teacher, and as a rural orthopedic doctor, his position was neither legitimate nor proper.

With Tong Yuan'an in the orthopedics department, they could legitimately take over the surgical authority for tendon suturing, and even Chen Song wouldn't dare to object.

As for whether Peng Kun can surpass Lu Cheng's current level and take sole control of tendon suturing a few months later, that's another story.

Chen Song said, "You should fill your stomach first..."

(End of this chapter)