Rebirth of a Doctor Without Regrets

Chapter 138 New Assistant

Li Renzhong brushed his hands until they were bright red, put on his surgical gown and sterile gloves, and walked into the operating room with his hands raised behind his back.

Before he even got on stage, his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

The resident doctors standing behind him were all senior colleagues with more experience than him. In the department, he would always give them a wide berth.

Now, however, I have to bypass them and go directly to the stage as an assistant. It's hard to say whether they will make things difficult for me in the future.

He took a deep breath, slowly turned around, and bowed deeply to the resident doctors behind him as a way of expressing his apology and gratitude.

The expressions on the faces of the seniors were indeed not good; Li Renzhong could see the coldness and mockery in their eyes.

Only one bald, seemingly in-forties resident doctor said softly, "Go quickly."

Li Renzhong felt somewhat dazed. How could such an old resident doctor not be rated as a placebo?

These words gave him great encouragement.

He quickly turned around and almost walked to the assistant's position.

Taking the surgical scissors from Xue Jia, I ran my fingertips over the smooth metal surface, never before feeling such a bone-chilling cold.

Wang Xiao had already completed the steps that she could perform independently: removing the calcified tissue at the valve orifice and reshaping the valve orifice.

Seeing that he was in position, Zhu Xiao picked up the needle holder and gestured to him without looking up: "Come and help me hold the artificial valve steady, don't shake it."

Li Renzhong quickly stepped forward and carefully supported the artificial flap.

But he was so nervous that he unconsciously held his breath.

Gradually, his hand began to move out of control, his fingertips trembled slightly, and the artificial flap swayed gently along with it.

Wang Xiao had to stop her suture needle as soon as it approached the flap opening because of the movement of the artificial flap.

After several attempts, Wang Xiao only managed to get a few stitches.

The atmosphere in the operating room became somewhat heavy, and the circulating nurses, anesthesiologists, and cardiopulmonary bypass technicians all stood further apart.

Normally, if the surgeon has such an assistant, he would definitely get angry.

If it were Director Lin, he probably would have already smashed the plate on the ground.

Li Renzhong's face flushed red, his palms were covered in cold sweat, feeling slippery inside his gloves. He was anxious and flustered, and his voice trembled slightly: "Dr. Wang, I'm so sorry, I was too nervous. I'll be calmer, calmer."

He tried desperately to steady his hands, but his muscles seemed to have a mind of their own, trembling even more violently.

Wang Xiao put down the suture needle, turned her head to look at him, and without any reproach, said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Don't be nervous, take a deep breath. You are one of my own people, I trust you."

Absolute smoothness isn't necessary; just maintain a steady grip while inserting the needle, and you can relax a bit after removing it.

The words "our own people" were like a warm current, dispelling the panic and unease in Li Renzhong's heart.

If he weren't still wearing an artificial flap, he would have knelt down on the spot and sworn in Wang Xiao as his godfather.

He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, adjusted his posture, and slowly exerted force with both hands. The trembling in his fingertips gradually subsided, and he steadily held the artificial valve.

Seeing this, Wang Xiao picked up the needle holder again.

With nimble fingers, the sutures moved precisely between the valve opening and the artificial valve, the stitches even and fine.

Every time Wang Xiao removed the needle, Li Renzhong would relax his wrist, take a deep breath, and then continue.

With the cooperation of the two, although it was slower than usual, the final stitching was completed relatively smoothly.

After the water injection test was passed, Wang Xiao signaled to stop extracorporeal circulation and remove the relevant equipment.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the patient's heart slowly resume beating and all the indicators on the monitor stabilize and return to normal.

"Will closing your chest cause problems?" Wang Xiao asked.

"Yes! But—" Li Renzhong answered excitedly, then hesitated and looked at the resident doctors behind him.

Wang Xiao also glanced at the observing resident doctors, each of whom had dead fish-like eyes.

He guessed what Li Renzhong was thinking, so he said, "Choose one to help you close your chest."

"Huh? I choose?" Li Renzhong looked bewildered.

Upon hearing Wang Xiao's words, the group of poker-faced resident doctors instantly became enthusiastic, their fawning smiles visible even through their masks.

The elderly, bald resident doctor was chosen to go forward and close Li Renzhong's chest.

Looking at the two busy people, Wang Xiao suddenly felt a surge of emotion.

He used to think that it was unfair for hospital leaders to practice nepotism and not to promote the best people.

But only now did he realize that these auxiliary tasks were not very difficult and did not require the most outstanding or best people to do them.

Using familiar and trustworthy people is a better guarantee that no major problems will occur.

Just like before, although Li Renzhong is only a resident trainee and his skills are not as good as those senior residents, Wang Xiao knows his level very well. As long as he can keep a calm mindset, he can do a good job in assisting others, and that is enough.

Those senior residents may have better skills, but they may also have worse skills, which could delay the surgery.

After this surgery ended, there was a 20-minute break before the next surgery was ready.

Wang Xiao walked quickly towards the rest area.

On the bed in the rest area, Li Wei was curled up, fast asleep, her cheeks flushed with an unnatural redness.

Wang Xiao gently reached out and touched her forehead. He felt a warmth at his fingertips, indicating that she had a fever.

Li Wei caught a cold after staying up all night for several days, which severely depleted her energy and weakened her immune system.

In principle, doctors with colds should not go on duty, because coughing and sneezing increase the risk of infection for patients, and cold viruses can also be transmitted to patients and other medical staff through contact.

However, hospitals have limited staff, so doctors with mild colds will usually still go to the operating room as long as they take precautions, wear masks and gloves, and try to avoid close contact with the patient's surgical field.

Only when a severe cold seriously affects mental state and operational stability will someone be forced to rest.

Wang Xiao leaned down and listened carefully to Li Wei's breathing. Her breathing was very heavy, and there were also slight coughing and wheezing sounds. She clearly had a bad cold.

In this state, she is simply not up to the task of performing high-intensity surgical assistance. Forcing her to go on stage could not only affect the progress of the surgery, but also increase the patient's risk of infection.

He gently tucked the blanket around Li Wei, then turned and walked out of the rest area.

Although Li Renzhong seemed a bit nervous just now, with more guidance and practice, he can completely replace Li Wei and serve as her assistant for the time being.

Back in the operating room, Li Renzhong was squatting on the floor, carefully helping the nurses organize the surgical instruments.

Wang Xiao walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "Renzhong, starting from the next surgery, you will temporarily replace Li Wei and be my assistant."

Li Renzhong excitedly stood up abruptly, but his footing gave way and he stumbled back to the ground. He managed a weak smile as he braced himself: "Dr. Wang, I—I feel a little dizzy."