Rebirth of a Doctor Without Regrets

December in Kunming, the "Spring City," should have been a bitterly cold winter, but an unusually warm air mass moving northward stirred up a chaotic situation.

The snow that had accumulated over the past few days melted rapidly under the influence of warm air currents, and the melted snow water then refrozen into ice in the low temperatures at night, turning the city's roads into "mirrors" that concealed hidden dangers.

Just after six o'clock in the morning, news of a series of traffic accidents came one after another from the main roads of the city and the surrounding highways.

The piercing sirens of police cars and ambulances blared together, shattering the city's tranquility.

The emergency hotline at Chungda No. 2 Hospital was almost overwhelmed with calls, and an emergency rescue notification was received within half an hour.

Director Gong was urgently summoned as soon as he arrived at the hospital.

Dean Chen arrived at the emergency building immediately and worked at the triage desk, personally overseeing the operation.

All staff in all departments of the hospital were on duty, and all emergency and resuscitation rooms were open.

The ICU also empties its beds in advance to prepare for the treatment of critically ill patients.

All available surgical staff were transferred to the emergency department to provide support, forming twelve temporary treatment teams.

Medical staff in white coats can be seen everywhere, from the triage desk and emergency room to the corridors.

When Wang Xiao quickly changed into his white coat and came out, he even saw Director Lin Gaoming among them.

Lin Gaoming glanced back at him, nodded, and looked serious.

"Beep-beep-beep" The first batch of ambulances approached, and five ambulances stopped at the entrance of the emergency building at the same time.

The moment the car door opened, five critically ill patients, covered in blood and disoriented, were carried out. Some had twisted limbs with obvious fractures, while others had protruding chests suspected of being caused by external chest injuries. The scene was shocking.

"Director Chen, the first batch of critically ill patients, five!" The accompanying medical staff reported urgently while carrying the stretchers.

Dean Chen immediately stood up to coordinate: "I'll be in charge of coordinating the transfer of non-critical patients to specialist wards! Director Gong, you'll be in charge of the on-site treatment team; quickly carry out emergency care and specialist triage!"

Director Gong stepped forward in response, his gaze quickly sweeping over the injuries of each patient. He decisively ordered: "Patient No. 1 has an open femoral fracture; transfer to the orthopedics department. Patient No. 2 has a chest injury with pneumothorax; transfer to the thoracic surgery team. Patient No. 3 has significant abdominal tenderness; transfer to the general surgery department. Patients No. 4 and No. 5 have altered mental status; first, send them to the emergency room to stabilize their vital signs, then conduct further investigations!"

The medical staff performed their duties in an orderly manner, carrying stretchers, connecting monitors, and establishing intravenous access, all under the direction of Director Gong.

Just as the first batch of patients had been triaged, many patients with minor injuries also came to the hospital on their own.

Not only do vehicles have accidents on the ice, but many people also slip and fall.

"Wang Xiao, go and assist the minor injuries triage area!" Director Gong called out to Wang Xiao, noticing the young resident doctors who were working non-stop.

The reception hall was instantly filled with people.

Wang Xiao is cleaning and suturing the wounds of a patient who has fallen and injured himself in the treatment room.

However, he didn't forget to observe the activity in the hall. After all, he had a cheat code, so he was ready to act when necessary and save as many lives as possible.

There are quite a few people who have fallen and been injured, especially those who fell on their heads or suffered impacts to their abdomens, which pose a certain risk.

Delayed intracranial hemorrhage and delayed splenic rupture are common sequelae of falls and should not be taken lightly.

But now CT scans are also full of critically ill patients, so it's no longer possible to rule out these cases with X-rays.

Normally, patients who fall and require observation are now being advised by nurses to leave as soon as possible to make room for more critically ill patients.

There's no other way; resources are limited, and you always have to make choices.

Simply put, it means that someone who might die should give up their position to someone who is certain to die.

The nurses quickly placed the large, red emergency sign at the hospital entrance.

Urgent Notice: Due to our participation in a major municipal-level rescue mission, the emergency department of our hospital is currently experiencing temporary capacity limitations. Patients with acute and critical illnesses can still receive treatment as normal. Patients with non-acute or non-critical illnesses are advised to seek treatment at the emergency departments of [Chuncheng First People's Hospital, Chuncheng University First Affiliated Hospital, or Chuncheng Provincial Hospital]. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Upon seeing this bustling scene, some newly arrived patients with minor injuries shook their heads and went to other secondary-level hospitals or community hospitals.

This gave everyone a much-needed breather.

The calm lasted for less than ten minutes before a second batch of ambulances arrived.

Ten ambulances lined up in a row, and ten more critically ill patients were carried into the emergency room one after another.

"All patients suffered crush injuries from a chain-reaction car accident, and many are in shock!" The doctor's shout from the ambulance made the atmosphere tense again.

Director Gong quickly mobilized the treatment teams, and the orthopedic and general surgery treatment teams were soon filled with patients, leaving the remaining treatment teams struggling to cope with complex injuries.

Director Gong rushed to Dean Chen's side, his voice filled with barely concealed anxiety: "Dean Chen, the second batch of ten critically ill patients has already filled the orthopedic and general surgery treatment teams! How many more critically ill patients does the command center need us to take in? We're almost overwhelmed!"

Dean Chen had just finished coordinating the transfer of a cerebral hemorrhage patient to the neurosurgery department when he heard this, his expression darkened further: "The situation is worse than we expected. We not only have to take in the injured from the city, but also critically ill patients that hospitals in several surrounding counties can't handle are being sent here. We just received a notification that two more batches of critically injured patients are on their way."

"This won't do!" Director Gong clenched his fists. "The current treatment team can't even handle specialist triage; accepting more wounded would only disrupt the division of labor!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of an ambulance siren came from afar. The third batch of wounded had arrived, this time with eight patients, each with different injuries, none of whom could be left untreated.

Dean Chen gritted his teeth and issued an emergency order: "Stop worrying about specialist triage! Whichever treatment team is available should go in, prioritize stabilizing vital signs, and then coordinate with specialists to take over! Call all medical staff to their posts, and no one is allowed to leave their posts without authorization!"

Director Gong immediately relayed instructions, completely disrupting the triage process in the emergency room. Medical staff were rushing between beds, not even having time to drink water.

In the face of such a large-scale public safety incident, the principle of emergency treatment is to save lives first and then treat illnesses.

Just then, another ambulance arrived with sirens blaring. The moment the door opened, a wounded man covered in broken glass, with a distended abdomen, was lifted out. Dark red blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth, and his face was deathly pale.

"The injured man is a 42-year-old male. He was severely crushed by the vehicle and suffered a closed abdominal injury. His blood pressure is 75/40 mmHg, and he is continuously vomiting blood!" The accompanying doctor's voice was filled with despair.

All treatment teams are already working to save lives.

Fang Yuan, who was organizing medical records nearby, rushed over and, together with several other resident doctors, pushed the injured person into the newly vacated emergency room number one.

The body of the previous injured person was still nearby; they hadn't even had time to move it away.

Fang Yuan's hands trembled slightly with nervousness: "Quick! ECG monitoring, oxygen administration, establish dual intravenous access, blood tests (routine and coagulation function), prepare 400ml of blood immediately!"

She called for the nurse while operating the machine quickly, but seeing the blood pressure dropping on the monitor and the injured person vomiting blood continuously, she was frantic but had no ideas.

She had only seen this kind of severe abdominal compression injury during her advanced studies and had no idea how to treat it.

Wang Xiao, who had just finished treating two patients with minor injuries, heard the chaotic sounds coming from the emergency room and immediately rushed in. Seeing Fang Yuan standing helplessly by the bedside and the readings on the monitor, she immediately bent down to check on the injured person's condition.

Significant abdominal tenderness and rebound tenderness, absent bowel sounds, combined with symptoms of hematemesis and hypotension, led him to an immediate diagnosis: "There is active massive bleeding in the abdominal cavity. Immediate exploratory laparotomy to stop the bleeding is necessary; any delay will be fatal!"

"No! Dr. Wang, we can't rush this!" Chen Kaili, the head nurse of the emergency department who was preparing resuscitation equipment, quickly stepped forward to stop him. "This is within the scope of general surgery. According to procedure, surgery must wait for a general surgeon to arrive! You are providing support from cardiac surgery; it's not compliant for you to perform surgery outside your department!"

"Is compliance more important than human lives?" Wang Xiao's voice suddenly rose. "The entire general surgery treatment team is full. By the time they get here, the injured person will have bled to death!"

Wang Xiao looked at the blood pressure monitor, which had dropped to 68/35 mmHg, and without hesitation, grabbed a surgical gown and put it on: "If anything goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility! Fang Yuan, help me prepare for the surgery, and call an anesthesiologist!"

Fang Yuan immediately came to her senses, and Xue Jia ran over to quickly help Wang Xiao put on her surgical gown and prepare the surgical instruments.

Seeing the injured person's critical condition, Chen Kaili finally gritted her teeth, turned around to negotiate with the family, and murmured, "I hope you're right..."

Ten minutes later, the family signed the consent form, and the injured person was given an emergency injection of anesthesia.

【Ding! 】

[An impending surgery has been detected.]

[Perfect Surgical System activated.]

After the anesthesia took effect, Wang Xiao, holding a scalpel, quickly made a longitudinal incision in the patient's abdomen. As soon as the blade entered the abdominal cavity, a stream of dark red blood gushed out, instantly soaking the surgical towel and gloves.

The entire abdominal cavity was filled with blood, completely obstructing the view and making it impossible to see the bleeding point.

"Dual suction device, maximum power!" Fang Yuan inserted the suction device into her abdominal cavity and quickly sucked away the accumulated blood.

As the blood pooled gradually decreased, several obvious bleeding points, such as the ruptured stomach wall and the tear in the mesentery of the small intestine, were exposed. Wang Xiao immediately picked up a suture needle and thread and quickly sutured and stopped the bleeding with swift, deft movements of her fingers.

However, after the last obvious bleeding point was sutured, the blood pressure reading on the monitor did not rise, but instead continued to drop to 60/30 mmHg, and the patient's heart rate soared to 140 beats per minute.

The anesthesiologist increased the amount of blood transfused and issued a danger warning.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Wang Xiao's forehead, his hand gripping the surgical forceps hung limply, and his brows were furrowed into a tight knot: "No, there are still hidden bleeding points! There must be a ruptured blood vessel that we haven't found!"

Fang Yuan quickly adjusted the angle of the suction device to help Wang Xiao clear the remaining blood from her abdominal cavity.

No one knew what to do. The air in the operating room seemed to freeze, with only the beeping of the instruments and the buzzing of the suction device remaining.

In a life-or-death situation, every second feels incredibly long.