Healing Doctor

Chapter 164 The First Surgery

"Benefits? What benefits?"

"The place is small, and everyone knows each other's backgrounds. We're all neighbors, and they know they can't squeeze much money out of us at the hospital, so there are fewer medical disputes than in the provincial capital. There are no professional medical disputes; ordinary people are just ordinary people, and as long as I treat them well, they won't try to take advantage of me."

"..." Director Liu was speechless.

Zhao Zhe said this, and although Director Liu thought it made sense, it was too risky to carry out partial nephrectomy and fill in any gaps in the procedure at a grassroots hospital. If it were Director Liu, he definitely wouldn't do it.

Knowing what to do in what position is the most basic worldview.

No wonder the on-call doctor in the department kept making sarcastic remarks; if he were in Zhao Zhe's shoes, he would have advised him as well. It's just that this guy looks incredibly timid, but he's actually very decisive when it comes to doing things.

"Director Liu, I know there's something wrong with what I'm doing," Dr. Zhao said with a smile, not discouraged. "It's different here than in the provincial capital. It's a small place, and every household is connected. If someone gets a back injury, they can't even hold their head up when they go out. I know you don't really believe it, but it's true."

Dr. Zhao Zhe talked on and on about his experience working in Yuanliao City and his personal journey. The three of them arrived at a small restaurant.

After greeting the boss and his wife warmly, Zhao Zhe invited Director Liu to take a seat, let Ji Xiang sit next to Director Liu, and sat down himself by the aisle.

"This is a local specialty. The pheasants are all completely organic and wild. With mushrooms and glass noodles, I've never eaten at a Michelin-starred restaurant, but I think this is what delicious food in the world is all about."

"Haha, it's all the same," Director Liu laughed.

After getting to know Dr. Zhao Zhe, his rustic manner and talkative nature weren't so bad after all.

He's quite an interesting person.

Dr. Zhao first asked the proprietress for two vegetarian dishes, which were the most simple and unpretentious things like smashed cucumber, and then sat down.

"Dr. Zhao, it must be quite difficult to perform interventional surgery at the beginning," Ji Xiang asked.

"It's alright," said Dr. Zhao Zhe. "Let's not talk about certifications; I'm actually quite good at studying. They say scholars are useless, and every time I see that, I feel like someone is pointing a finger at me and calling me useless."

"I learned how to do it and felt I could do it, but the hospital leaders wouldn't let me do it no matter what. I guess they're right, who would want to create trouble for themselves?"

"If I, a self-taught monk, cause a medical malpractice incident, the leaders will also have to bear the responsibility."

"Then one day my dad suddenly turned pale. We were drinking together when he suddenly collapsed in his chair, struggling to breathe. We don't see many cases like this in the urology emergency room."

"ah?!"

Although Zhao Zhe had mentioned this before, Ji Xiang thought it was something else entirely.

"Thinking back, it must have been my mom who told him to drink less, but my dad wouldn't have it, so he jokingly punched him and broke the hemangioma."

"!!!"

"Luckily I was there. When I dragged my dad to the hospital, he stubbornly refused to leave." Zhao Zhe poured Director Liu a glass of wine, but Ji Xiang refused. Zhao Zhe didn't force him and started talking about the past. "When we arrived at the hospital, our general surgery director was scratching his head."

"Surgery for a ruptured hemangioma in the liver is nothing special at the Second Affiliated Hospital, but it is an extremely difficult surgery in our prefecture-level city. Moreover, my dad's hemangioma is not small, with a diameter of 6cm. I had been urging him to have surgery for a long time, but he refused no matter what I said."

As people get older, they become afraid of this and that, and sure enough, problems arise. If I get old and my health deteriorates, I might dig a hole and bury myself, and then...

Zhao Zhe habitually veered off-topic, but Director Liu interrupted him, "Tell me about your father's illness back then."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Director Liu, I've gotten used to talking to myself all these years," Zhao Zhe said somewhat embarrassedly.

"They're all doctors from the same family, and they suggested I transfer to the provincial capital, or maybe Fengtian. Our place is somewhere between the two provincial capitals; it's convenient to go anywhere, but also not very convenient to go anywhere. The highways…"

"Clang, clang~" Director Liu tapped his wine glass with his chopsticks, signaling Zhao Zhe to bring the topic back.

Zhao Zhe felt embarrassed, but he couldn't change his long-standing habits overnight.

"Judging from my dad's condition, I don't think he'll make it to the provincial capital. The journey alone will take two hours, and even if we find a familiar doctor there, it will take at least another hour for them to come from home to admit him to the hospital and perform emergency surgery."

This is at least, three to five hours is normal, wouldn't you say?

My dad was already in hemorrhagic shock at the time, with a blood pressure of 60. The blood bank didn't have any blood, so they could only give him colloids and crystalloids.

"Those blood bank vampires! I've donated over 2000 kilograms of blood in my lifetime, I have a ton of blood certificates, and they said my immediate family members would get free blood, but when I actually needed it, they couldn't get a single drop."

"Clang, clang~" Director Liu tapped the bowl, reminding Zhao Zhe again.

"Well, at the time I was faced with a choice. You don't know what's going on until you experience it yourself. Logically speaking, going to the provincial capital would be the best option, as the son would have fulfilled his filial duty. If he really died, it would just be bad luck, and I would give my father a grand funeral."

"But I don't think so. I know how to do it, it was just a coincidence that the cardiology department had a surgery that couldn't be completed for a long time."

"I went up to help them get off, and then I put my dad on the operating table. The guidewire and catheter were indeed not working very well. I didn't know why, but Teacher Xiao Ji reminded me of it and that's when I realized there was such a difference."

"I was wondering why Professor Ling Tian's surgeries went so smoothly, given how difficult catheters are to use. I always thought it was because I wasn't skilled enough. But actually, skill..."

"Clang, clang, clang." Director Liu continued knocking.

"My dad's condition was urgent at the time. The head of the cardiology department didn't dare to do it, so she helped me hold the guidewire while I did it myself. I was so anxious that my hands and feet were ice cold and my adrenaline was off the charts."

"How long did it take?" Director Liu thought this guy was really reckless. Surgery for liver hemangioma is difficult, a little easier than embolization for pelvic fracture, but not much different.

"It took about 30 or 40 minutes. I was so anxious! After the surgery, I felt like I'd been pulled out of the water; water was dripping down my lead apron. Thankfully, it's over, but I don't know if I did it right. The theory is there, but who knows if it will work?"

Director Liu was shocked and stared blankly at Zhao Zhe.

He hadn't expected this person to be so bold and meticulous, and that they actually managed to perform the surgery.

If I were in Zhao Zhe's position, I really couldn't do that.

Awesome!

Zhao Zhe had no idea what Director Liu was thinking. He habitually steered the conversation off-topic once again, rambling on about how he was soaked to the bone after the surgery, looking like a drowned rat.

(End of this chapter)