Rebirth of a Doctor Without Regrets

As soon as Lin Gaoming finished speaking, the operating room fell into a brief silence, and everyone's eyes turned to Wang Xiao.

Academician Wu Xin raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Suturing a heart without stopping it is something even experienced cardiac surgeons might not dare to attempt lightly, let alone a young resident who is still supporting the emergency department.

This requires not only extremely steady hands, but also precise control of the rhythm of one's heartbeat. Performing millimeter-level precision operations on a beating living object is far more difficult than practicing on a static model.

"Director Lin, you..." The chief assistant of the academician's team couldn't help but speak, but then swallowed the words back.

He couldn't understand why Lin Gaoming would entrust such a crucial operation to a young man with little experience. If something went wrong, not only would the patient's life be in danger, but it could also affect the subsequent limb replantation.

Wang Xiao herself also felt her heart racing.

He had indeed observed many cardiac surgeries and practiced suturing repeatedly in the training room, but he had never even touched a suture procedure that involved a heart that was constantly beating.

But looking at that tiny crack, less than 1 centimeter long, it could actually be fixed with just two or three stitches.

Then he remembered that he had the system to back him up, and a strange sense of confidence welled up in his heart.

"I'll give it a try." He took a deep breath and took the microsurgical needle holder from the nurse.

Lin Gaoming stood to the side, looking at him with a complicated expression: "Don't be nervous, just treat it like practicing in the training room. Remember, follow the rhythm of your heartbeat, and insert the needle quickly, accurately, and steadily, avoiding the branches of the coronary arteries."

He spoke casually, but he was secretly plotting something.

Although Wang Xiao's suturing technique is good, how could anyone succeed in performing a non-stop suturing on their first try?

This kind of genius needs to be challenged and frustrated. Once he's frustrated, he'll become interested and want to overcome the difficulties.

We want to show him the depth of our cardiac surgery techniques, which is far beyond what these orthopedic surgeons who dabble in saws and hammers can match.

Of course, he was also prepared to cover for Wang Xiao.

Wang Xiao took a deep breath, put on a headlamp and magnifying glass, and leaned closer to the operating table.

In my field of vision, the beating of my heart became clearer and clearer, the heart rate was stable, and each rise and fall seemed to follow a pattern.

He held his breath, waiting for his heartbeat to reach a relatively steady interval, then slightly lowered his wrist, aimed the needle tip at the edge of the laceration's myocardium, and plunged it in.

Just as the needle tip was about to pierce his heart muscle, his heart suddenly pounded violently, with a force far exceeding his expectations.

Wang Xiao wanted to control the needle tip to move along with the heart muscle, but it was difficult to control.

The needle tip deviated by half a millimeter, failing to accurately pierce the intended location and instead leaving a tiny scratch on the surface of the myocardium.

"Hiss—" Wang Xiao gasped instinctively and quickly withdrew the needle holder.

【Ding! 】

Iatrogenic injury occurred. Surgery failed.

Lin Gaoming sighed as if he had expected this, and stepped forward: "It's alright, the stitches were done in time. It's already quite good for your first attempt. Suturing while the heart is beating looks difficult, but it's actually not simple at all."

It requires long-term accumulation of experience and skill; that's the depth of expertise in cardiac surgery, something that can't be mastered through mere cleverness.

As he spoke, he reached for the needle holder in Wang Xiao's hand, saying, "Let me do it. Don't delay the subsequent limb replantation."

Wang Xiao silently recited in his mind: Backtrack.

[Start the time rewind module.]

[Current number of surgeries completed: 588]

Total backtracking attempts: 451

The previous farce was about to repeat itself, but this time Wang Xiao didn't rush to administer the acupuncture.

"Director Lin, the heart is still beating. How should I find the right time to insert the acupuncture?" Wang Xiao asked.

"The methods taught in books are difficult for doctors who are new to the field. A simpler method is to find the intervals during which the heart rests. Each time the heart relaxes or contracts, it has a period of rest."

The diastolic rest period is relatively long, about half a second, which is also the window of opportunity for your procedure. Many doctors who are new to off-pump surgery do it this way. As for the method described in textbooks, you should be very clear about it.

Wang Xiao nodded. "The method in the book is to continuously and synchronously move the surgeon's needle holder and suture needle in accordance with the rhythm of the heartbeat."

However, Wang Xiao's attempt just now failed.

This method is like asking you how to sign an autograph for someone sitting in a car traveling at 50 kilometers per hour.

The answer is to keep your relative displacement at zero.

You must run alongside this car in the same direction and at the same speed.

It's no good if you're going the wrong way, no good if you're too slow, no good if you're too fast, it's that simple.

Wang Xiao took a deep breath and used the same method as before, instead of the beginner's tip that Lin Gaoming had reminded him of.

That method of finding gaps might be suitable for dealing with shallow, small cracks, but it's completely useless for slightly deeper or more complex operations.

If you're going to practice, practice thoroughly; don't try to take shortcuts.

【Ding! 】

Iatrogenic injury occurred. Surgery failed.

[Start the time rewind module.]

……

……

……

[Start the time rewind module.]

[Current number of surgeries completed: 588]

Total backtracking attempts: 600

Wang Xiao failed to succeed in a total of 150 attempts.

I feel like I've reached the limit of what I can mentally endure.

Indeed, the highly complex techniques of cardiac surgery are not something that ordinary people can easily master.

Should Wang Xiao give up? She decided to try the beginner's tips Director Lin had mentioned…

Hmm, it seems like it was sewn on very easily.

"This..." Director Lin couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward to examine it carefully.

The tear was stitched up so well that it looked as if it had been done while the heart was stopped.

Even with shortcuts, Lin Gaoming had never seen anyone succeed on the first try.

"Ahem... You stitched it very well," Lin Gaoming cleared his throat, quickly concealing the surprise in his eyes, and said in a deliberately relaxed tone, "I told you you were a good candidate for studying cardiac surgery. Stitching a heart that keeps beating non-stop is a skill that many attending physicians might not be able to achieve even after a year or two of practice."

Lin Gaoming changed the subject and began to paint a rosy picture, "Once you return to cardiac surgery from the emergency room, you'll be involved in level two and three surgeries. With your talent, I estimate that in less than three years, you'll be able to independently perform routine level four surgeries. In another two years, I'll train you in heart transplant surgery, and you'll be the youngest heart transplant surgeon in the entire province!"

These words drew envious looks from the surrounding medical staff. Heart transplantation is the pinnacle of cardiac surgery, and Lin Gaoming's promise meant he genuinely intended to nurture Wang Xiao.

Wang Xiao smiled bitterly to himself. If it weren't for the system's time rewind feature, he probably wouldn't have been able to train for another two years.

There must be a reason why I didn't become a doctor in my past life.

But on the surface, he still pretended to be flattered: "Thank you for your guidance, Director Lin. I will definitely work hard."

Academician Wu Xin, who was standing to the side, could see clearly that Lin Gaoming's blatant attempts to win him over were not a test at all, but rather a way to prevent him from poaching people.

However, his admiration was even greater at this moment; even if he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run.

Non-stop heart surgery is extremely difficult, and the fact that this young man was able to master such a challenging procedure in such a short time, even if it involved some trickery, demonstrates his remarkable comprehension.

What about cardiac surgery? Orthopedic replantation and microsurgical anastomosis also require extreme precision. Wang Xiao's touch and composure are exactly the kind of successor he has been looking for.

Wu Xin stroked his chin, already planning how to extend an olive branch next.

Lin Gaoming, fearing that Wu Xin would interrupt, hurriedly urged, "Finish this quickly, don't delay Academician Wu's limb replantation."

Wang Xiao nodded and smoothly performed the chest closure procedure layer by layer. Only after confirming that there was no bleeding at the suture site did he step aside to become the surgeon.

Academician Wu's team had been waiting for a long time, eager to take over the leadership of the operating table.

Wang Xiao and Lin Gaoming stepped aside to observe.

Three hours later, the last nerve was stitched up.

Wu Xin loosened the needle holder and signaled to the nurse to loosen the tourniquet: "Observe the blood flow."

All eyes were focused on the fingertip of the severed limb. The originally pale fingertip quickly turned red, and the capillary refill test was positive.

"Success!" someone in the team cheered softly, and the tense atmosphere in the operating room instantly relaxed.

Wu Xin took off the microscope, a complex smile on his face: "Let's wrap this up. We cooperated very well in this surgery."