After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

Inside the catheterization lab, the previously faint sound of the equipment running seemed to be instantly sucked away.

Liu Xiaohe gripped the medical record tightly, not turning a single page for a long time.

Gao Yuan's Adam's apple bobbed, and he spoke first.

"Professor Ye, should we perform the puncture and angiography, and you handle the core release?"

"Was I not clear enough?"

Ye Zhen reached back and opened the sterile instrument cabinet, pulled out two sets of catheters, and slammed them onto the operating table.

"From puncture to withdrawal, you completed it independently."

"I'm only responsible for backup supervision."

"Even if you practice on the model hundreds of times, you're still not a doctor capable of performing surgery independently."

Gao Yuan gripped the edge of the medical record tightly, his voice hoarse.

"It's not that we're afraid to take on the responsibility, but isn't it too fast to suddenly ask us to be the lead surgeon on our own?"

"How many interventional surgeries have you and I participated in?"

Gao Yuan opened his mouth, but couldn't answer for a moment.

Liu Xiaohe, who was standing next to him, whispered the numbers.

One hundred and eighty-seven units.

What percentage of cases are classified as level 2 or below risk?

One hundred and forty-three units.

"Not enough?"

Liu Xiaohe bit her lower lip hard.

It's not that she can't.

She could recite the surgical procedure, instrument parameters, occluder model selection, and even contingency plans for extremely rare emergencies, all with her eyes closed.

But as long as Ye Zhen is standing next to her, she subconsciously feels like she has a safety rope—even if she goes astray, someone can pull her back at any time.

Once she herself becomes the surgeon, every faint heartbeat on the operating table will feel like a heavy weight of life and death pressing down on her shoulders.

"Teacher Ye, I'm afraid I'll harm the child."

"It's probably a good thing."

Ye Zhen reached out and took the medical record, then tapped the child's risk rating section twice with her knuckles.

"Those who are not afraid are not qualified to take the catheter."

"But if you're always hiding behind others and waiting for them to save you because you're afraid, then all the skills you've learned will be completely useless."

Gao Yuan frowned, wanting to speak again.

Ye Zhen cut him off without hesitation.

"The heart of China does not need useless cowards who dare not wield a knife without me."

These words were extremely heavy, causing several young medical staff in the catheterization lab to lower their heads simultaneously.

Liu Xiaohe's chest heaved violently twice, and a faint blush rose on her cheeks.

She suddenly raised her head and met Ye Zhen's gaze.

"I'll do it."

Gao Yuan then slammed the medical record shut in his hand.

"Give me the second one."

Ye Zhen took out a pen, signed her name on the two surgical schedules, and handed them over.

"Complete the preoperative review before noon. You can choose the instrument type yourself and decide on the backup plan yourself."

"If any aspect is not met, the surgeon's qualification will be immediately revoked."

Liu Xiaohe accepted the schedule with both hands and stood ramrod straight.

"clear."

Neither of them went to the cafeteria for lunch.

They locked themselves in their office and meticulously analyzed the patient's echocardiogram, angiography data, and coagulation indicators frame by frame and word by word.

Liu Xiaohe measured the diameter of the defect three times in front of the lightbox, and finally decided on a 10 mm sealing device, while carefully preparing 8 mm and 12 mm as backups.

When Gao Yuan was inspecting sterile instruments, he found a tiny pressure crease on the edge of the seal of a guidewire package.

He did not compromise in the slightest, and immediately returned the entire package to the supply room, and solemnly registered the batch number.

At 1:40 p.m., the first patient, Qin Le, was smoothly wheeled into the catheterization lab.

The child lay on the large operating table, looking exceptionally thin, calling out "Mommy" intermittently.

Liu Xiaohe walked over, bent down and tucked the corner of the sterile drape in for him, speaking very softly.

"Mom is waiting outside the door."

"You should sleep well, and when you wake up you can go back to your ward to see your mom."

As the anesthesia was administered, the child's breathing gradually became deeper and more even.

Liu Xiaohe walked to the surgeon's position.

Despite having mentally prepared herself countless times, her hands, still covered in latex gloves, still broke out in a fine sweat when the scrub nurse slapped the cold needle into her palm.

Ye Zhen stood beside the observation area, arms crossed, exuding a cold and hard aura.

"start."

Take a deep breath, disinfect, and precisely locate the blood vessel.

The moment the puncture needle pierces the skin and blood vessel wall, dark red venous blood flows back along the needle tip.

"Guide wire".

After the guidewire is connected, the operation begins.

The metal lines on the X-ray screen resembled snakes, smoothly sliding along the veins into the right atrium.

Adjust the catheter angle, measure the pressure, and inject the contrast agent.

The imaging results were exactly the same as the preoperative ultrasound assessment.

"Ten-millimeter occluder".

When the nurse handed her the assembled occluder, Liu Xiaohe's breathing tightened uncontrollably.

The real step of determining life and death has arrived.

The occluder is pushed forward along the sheath.

Just as the guidewire was about to cross the atrial septal defect, Liu Xiaohe's right hand showed a slight, visible tremor.

Li Hong, who was serving as the assistant next to her, felt a jolt in her heart and subconsciously took half a step forward.

"stop."

Ye Zhen didn't even raise her voice.

Lin Yi's legs seemed to be nailed to the spot.

"No one is allowed to help her."

Liu Xiaohe stared intently at the X-ray image, unable to suppress the slight trembling in her fingertips.

She stood there, frozen, neither daring to go forward nor retreat.

The scrub nurse was so nervous she didn't dare to breathe.

Ye Zhen remained standing to the side with her arms crossed, showing no intention of taking over, and simply uttered a cold sentence.

"Guideline for atrial septal defect guidewire, Article 3."

Liu Xiaohe closed her eyes in pain, then suddenly opened them again.

She gritted her teeth and recited the parameters she had memorized hundreds and thousands of times.

"The angle between the tip of the guidewire and the plane of the interatrial septum should not exceed 35 degrees. After entering the left atrium, maintain a safe bending length and strictly avoid touching the left atrial wall."

Article 4.

"If you encounter resistance, do not push forcefully. Immediately pull back two millimeters, adjust five degrees clockwise, and reconfirm the position of the tip."

Ye Zhen's voice was completely flat.

"Then let's do it."

Mechanical dogma became a life-saving anchor at this moment.

Liu Xiaohe's fingers finally moved, and the guide wire was precisely withdrawn.

No more, no less, two millimeters.

Slightly rotate your wrist, five degrees clockwise.

The guide wire tip on the screen deftly avoided the danger zone and re-aligned with the center of the defect.

The trembling in his fingers miraculously disappeared.

Those ingrained rules, along with the muscle memory formed from hundreds of simulated training sessions, forcefully took over her hands at this moment.

The guidewire, as smooth as a silky eel, pierced through the interatrial septum and steadily entered the safe waters of the left atrium.

Liu Xiaohe did not pause and steadily released the left side of the room.

The metal memory mesh expands perfectly, transforming into a miniature umbrella.

Gently pull back, and once you've confirmed that the left housing plate is firmly against the edge of the housing partition, decisively release the right housing plate.

The two ends of the umbrella disc clicked together.

The residual flow disappeared instantly.

"Tension test".

After repeated attempts, the occluder remained firmly in place, as if it had grown into the tissue.

"Follow-up imaging examination."

The contrast agent flushed the heart cavity again, and the blood flow on the screen was completely clear, with no leakage whatsoever.

Liu Xiaohe did not relax in a hurry.

She methodically remeasured the pressure in each chamber, kept a close eye on the steady heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygen data on the monitor, and then turned off the locking knob to finally release herself.

The 10-millimeter occluder, like a new button, was perfectly embedded deep in the child's heart.

There was a few seconds of silence in the catheterization lab.

Li Hong was the first to turn her head away and exhale a long breath.

The scrub nurse's scrubs were soaked through, but her eyes above her mask shone with ecstatic joy.

"It's a success."

Liu Xiaohe remained frozen in the surgeon's position.

Only after the catheter was completely removed from the body did the severed nerve relax.

She forced herself to apply pressure to stop the bleeding, then looked down at her watch and personally filled in every minute-accurate data point on the nursing record sheet.

Ye Zhen walked slowly to the control panel and examined the last fabricated video with one hand.

"You were two seconds slow when the left atrial disc was released."

The joy that had just welled up in Liu Xiaohe's heart was instantly doused with cold water, and she lowered her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I hesitated for a moment."

Ye Zhen took out a red pen and signed her name on the surgical record in a flamboyant manner.

"The rest of the operations are satisfactory."

Liu Xiaohe's eyes suddenly welled up with tears, but she held them back with all her might.

This stringent "meeting the standard" carries more weight than any praise in the world.

The child was gently wheeled into the recovery area by the nurse.

When the family members waiting outside the iron gate heard the good news, they were so excited that they burst into tears and bowed repeatedly while holding Liu Xiaohe's hand.

Liu Xiaohe straightened her back, exuding the authority of a chief surgeon, and clearly explained the possible postoperative risks and the timing of rounds that the family needed to cooperate with. Then she turned and stepped back into the catheterization lab.

The preparation table for the second surgery is ready.

Gao Yuan stood in front of the pool, vigorously scrubbing the disinfectant off his hands.

Hearing the sound of the airtight door opening, he didn't turn around; his voice was calm and steady.

"Teacher Ye, I'll choose the 12mm occluder, with the 10mm as a backup."

"reason."

"The child's defect edge tissue is relatively thick, twelve millimeters is enough to ensure gripping force, and preoperative ultrasound confirmed that there is sufficient surrounding space, so there will be no risk of compression to the aortic valve."

"What about Plan B?"

"In the event of a sudden vasospasm, immediately stop all catheter advancements, retreat to a safe area, administer a small dose of vasodilator, and continuously monitor blood pressure."

Ye Zhen took out a brand new pair of sterile gloves and stood at the supervisor's position.

"start."

Gao Yuan raised his wet hands and walked into the catheterization lab.

The initial movements—puncture, wire delivery, and angiography—were fluid, fast, and stable.

However, the moment the catheter tip entered the right ventricular outflow tract, the pressure curve on the monitor suddenly changed, like a broken tree branch.

In the perspective image, the originally full and clear blood vessel walls appear to narrow visibly, like startled muscles.

The anesthesiologist's expression changed drastically, and he looked up abruptly.

"My blood pressure is dropping!"

Lin Yi looked at the screen and blurted out.

"It's a vasospasm!"

The veins on the back of Gao Yuan's hand holding the catheter bulged instantly, and his pupils contracted slightly.

After a brief moment of shock, the plan that Ye Zhen had crammed into his mind with her grueling training burst forth.

He didn't turn around to look at Ye Zhen; his voice was hoarse but without a trace of panic.

"Stop all push notifications!"

"Withdraw the catheter three millimeters from its original position!"

"Prepare vasodilators for intravenous access, quick!"

Ye Zhen stood half a step behind him, never offering a helping hand.

The next second, the monitor's piercing alarm suddenly blared, like a death knell, and the red blood pressure readings began to plummet.