Healing Doctor

Chapter 792 Acute Appendicitis Caused by Anger

Dr. Meltz silently watched Wenban Yama.

This is exactly the situation he wanted to see, without exception.

Even if the young "Big Demon King" has a successful surgery, and Wenban Yama goes to a small team and doesn't perform well, the benefits for the "Big Demon King" will be much less.

I have plenty of time to maneuver. Ideally, I should use this time to digest and learn the Great Demon King's surgical techniques.

That kid named Wang Dali was indeed lucky. He seized the opportunity of the key players' injuries to quickly rise to the top, which led to Manchester City's transfer offer regardless of the cost.

But Wenban Yama's luck doesn't seem to be that good.

A ringing telephone snapped Dr. Meltz out of his reverie.

When Wenban Yama's phone rang, he seemed not to hear it, still immersed in the shock and disbelief of being sold.

The young man glanced at his phone dejectedly and waved it at his personal trainer.

"Whose phone is this?"

Wenban Yama's personal trainer glanced at it and shook his head.

"Hello," Wenban Yama answered the phone.

Immediately!

He froze, his hands stiffened, and his nail beds turned pale.

Dr. Meltz even noticed that the cast on Wenbanyama had moved slightly, as if a strong physiological electrical reflex in his limbs had broken through the cast's resistance.

A woman's voice could be faintly heard on the phone, but Dr. Meltz couldn't make out what she was saying.

"What a young man," Dr. Meltz thought with disdain. "Even with a cast on his arm, he can still make that face while answering a woman's phone call."

Doesn't Wenban Yama know he's facing a life-or-death decision? Doesn't he know what being sold to a small-market team in the final year of his contract means for him?

It's possible that even a tiny incident could lead to his downfall, and now that the Green Kai uniformed group is considering selling him, that probability has increased infinitely.

Dr. Meltz felt that if it were him, he would immediately use all his connections to try and get into a team that was qualified to compete for the championship.

Unlike Wenban Yama, who wasted precious time flirting with a woman.

The key point is that Wenban Yama is clearly a novice; he listened blankly to the woman on the other end of the phone, completely oblivious to her charm.

"Victor, who is he?" Wenban Yama's personal trainer mouthed the question tentatively.

"Jenny Bass," Wenban Yama murmured.

When they heard the name spoken by Wenban Yama, both Dr. Meltz and his personal trainer froze on the spot.

It wasn't flirting; it was a call from the Lakers' owner!

Jeanie Buss actually made lobbying calls directly to Wimbanyama, completely disregarding the league's rules!

Although there are various restrictions during this sensitive period, they are all negotiable.

At most, they'll just have to pay a fine. Who can do anything to the Lakers?

Jenny Bass's desperate actions have demonstrated her desire for Wenbanama.

Dr. Meltz stared blankly at Wimbanyama, a strange thought running through his mind—Wimbanyama was incredibly lucky.

Yes, he was very lucky, and exceptionally lucky.

The Lakers and Celtics have a long-standing feud, and the Lakers-Celtics rivalry is one of the NBA's traditional dramas.

Getting the Celtics to trade their star player to the Lakers is incredibly difficult. How long has it been since the two teams last made a trade? Dr. Merz couldn't even remember.

The reason why Benban Yama can be discussed is because of whether or not one believes that Benban Yama can be restored.

Clearly, the Lakers wanted to take a gamble, but the Celtics' management didn't believe it and took the opportunity to dump their burdens on the Lakers and hollow out the Lakers' core and future.

Wenbanyama quickly regained his composure and began talking to Jenny Bass on the other end of the phone.

Dr. Meltz managed to understand what he was saying through Vinban Yama’s broken English—Jenny Buss was frantically inviting him to join the Lakers.

The Lakers are willing to pay an extremely high price for this.

She was even willing to make a deal with her arch-enemy.

It's not easy to win over the uniformed officers of your nemesis, and it's unclear why Jenny Bass would be willing to take such a gamble.

Has she been bewitched by the Great Demon King?!

"Damn it," Dr. Meltz cursed inwardly.

However, he quickly regained his composure. The Lakers have been rebuilding since LeBron's retirement tour, and he probably wanted to try his luck.

Jenny Buss is destined to fail, absolutely!

After Wenbanyama hung up the phone, his personal trainer quickly asked, "Victor, what did Miss Jenny say?"

"She invited me to the Lakers, saying that if I agreed, she would personally handle the negotiations with the Celtics."

"!!!"

Although it was expected, everyone was still surprised when Wenban Yama admitted it.

"Great, this is great!" Wenban Yama's personal trainer rubbed his hands together, overjoyed.

Dr. Meltz was trembling with rage, though he himself was unaware of it.

Immediately, Dr. Merz felt a sharp pain in his lower right abdomen, like a small knife.

F***!!

Dr. Merz was taken aback. Could it be that damned acute appendicitis had struck?!

Why now of all times!

However, Dr. Meltz was immediately relieved that his heart had held up during the emotional turmoil. If it weren't for the damned acute appendicitis waking him up, he probably would have needed an emergency stent placement.

It wouldn't matter if it were at Massachusetts General Hospital, but Dr. Meltz wasn't sure about the quality of medical care there.

Dr. Meltz immediately left the ward, calling the translator to come with him.

"Dr. Meltz, what can I do for you?" the translator asked cautiously.

Since arriving at the Second Affiliated Hospital, he hasn't had much to do.

Ji Xiang's spoken English was much more authentic than his, especially when he was communicating with Wen Ban Yama. At first, Wen Ban Yama's English, which had a strong French accent, was really troublesome, but Ji Xiang could understand it.

Later, the two simply communicated in French, so the translator didn't have much to do.

"My stomach hurts," Dr. Meltz told the translator. "I need to see their doctor; I suspect it's acute appendicitis."

"!!!" The translator recognized Dr. Meltz's expression and saw him bent over with a pained look on his face. He was sure it wasn't a joke, so he immediately called the chief resident of orthopedics.

Xu Leyu rushed over and called Dr. Meltz to the dressing room for a physical examination.

Typical right lower quadrant McBurney's point tenderness, accompanied by rebound tenderness, and even some muscle tension.

Xu Leyu felt that diagnosing acute appendicitis was not a problem, although there were still a few differential diagnoses.

The head of the gastrointestinal surgery department was called in for a consultation immediately.

"Mr. Xu, who is this?" the head of the gastroenterology department asked.

"Isn't this the place where one of our NBA stars recently had surgery?" Xu Leyu said with a hint of pride. "This is a sports medicine expert from Massachusetts General Hospital, who came to learn and exchange ideas with Xiao Ji."

"Tch! What are you so happy about? What does it have to do with you?" The boss of the gastroenterology department said sourly when he saw Xu Leyu's face lighting up when he mentioned Ji Xiang.

Recently, people in orthopedics and urology have benefited greatly, with SCI publications almost sold out in bulk, and everyone getting one.

Everyone was about the same, but Xu Leyu published several top-tier SCI papers in just one or two months. It's impossible not to feel jealous.

For doctors of their age, publishing one or two more SCI papers can have a profound impact on their future.

"Hahaha," Xu Leyu chuckled softly, "There's a patient. Be serious. Dr. Meltz, a specialist in Massachusetts, suddenly has pain in his lower right abdomen. Do you think he needs to be hospitalized?"

"It's probably appendicitis," the gastroenterologist sighed. "He'll need to be hospitalized. I didn't tell him..."

He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and his eyes lit up.

"Old Xu, we don't have a translator. Can you ask Xiao Ji to come and help us?"

Xu Leyu was speechless when he saw a translator standing in front of him, but the head of the gastroenterology department said there was no translator.

He was also aware of the little schemes of the gastroenterology boss.

"You have Xiao Ji's phone number, call him yourself if you want."

"You're being stingy," said the head of the gastroenterology department. "You know this better than anyone else. This is already the limit. I'm afraid if I make a phone call, Xiao Ji will take his morning grumpiness out on me."

"Now... never mind, I'll go call Xiao Ji." Xu Leyu glanced at the head of the gastroenterology department. "What kind of tests are needed?"

"As usual, let's rule out urinary tract diseases such as kidney stones first."

Right lower abdominal pain in men could also be caused by kidney stones, which definitely needs to be investigated.

After admitting Dr. Meltz to the hospital and completing the admission procedures, Ji Xiang strode in very quickly.

"Mr. Xu, you mean Dr. Meltz is ill?"

"Preliminary diagnosis: acute appendicitis," Mr. Xu said with a smile. "It might be due to a change in environment."

You can put anything into the broad category of "acclimatization sickness." Ji Xiang suddenly remembered a paper that mentioned that acclimatization sickness is probably related to local epidemic bacteria and antibodies.

However, acute appendicitis is quite different from this explanation.

"General Manager Zhao from the Gastroenterology Department said he wants you to be his translator. I think he wants to..." General Manager Xu said with a smile, only finishing half of his sentence.

Mr. Xu felt a little embarrassed, having already taken advantage of the situation enough.

"I'll go take a look," Ji Xiang said. "But writing a paper about acute appendicitis seems a bit difficult."

"Hahaha."

Xu Leyu laughed loudly.

If Ji Xiang could write a paper on acute appendicitis and publish it in a decent SCI journal, I would definitely prostrate myself in worship.

That's impossible. General Zhao was just envious and ended up messing around.

Ji Xiang didn't talk to Xu Leyu much and went straight to the gastrointestinal surgery department.

Dr. Meltz was bent over in pain on the bed, like a big, cooked shrimp.

Upon seeing Ji Xiang arrive, Dr. Meltz's expression became somewhat strange, as if he had momentarily forgotten his pain.

"Dr. Meltz, is the physical examination finished? Have all the tests been done?" Ji Xiang asked.

"My request regarding your medical care..."

Dr. Meltz only managed to utter half a sentence before a sudden wave of pain brought him to an abrupt halt.

"What's wrong with our medical care?" Ji Xiang was taken aback and turned to look at Director Zhao of the gastrointestinal surgery department. "Hello, Dr. Zhao."

"Oh, don't be so polite," Boss Zhao quickly said. "Some of the existing test results haven't come back yet. Although they can diagnose acute appendicitis, I feel something's strange, so I'd like to get a CT scan."

"Dr. Meltz said it wasn't necessary."

General Manager Zhao briefly explained the situation.

He then began to "report" the differential diagnosis to Ji Xiang as if he were reporting the patient's condition to a senior doctor.

Acute appendicitis, acute cholecystitis, acute pyelonephritis, ureteral stones, bacterial enteritis or appendicitis, and amoebic colitis.

General Zhao explained it in great detail.

Ji Xiang was looking through the existing examination reports.

Preliminary blood tests showed an increased white blood cell count (14 × 109⁹/L) and elevated C-reactive protein (39 mg/dL) during the acute phase, while hemoglobin and platelet counts were normal.

Liver and kidney function were normal, and serum amylase and lipase levels were not elevated. Urinalysis and microscopic examination were normal, and no parasite eggs or cysts were found in stool examination.

Clinically, the main focus is on screening for urinary tract stones. General Zhao did a very thorough job, checking even some extremely rare differential diagnoses.

Ji Xiang was somewhat puzzled.

"Teacher Zhao, now that it's all done, does Dr. Meltz still have any questions?" Ji Xiang asked.

He said he had done too many tests and requested emergency surgery.

Ji Xiang knew that General Zhao still had something to say.

He didn't say it explicitly, but instead looked up at President Zhao.

"Abdominal ultrasound examination showed heterogeneous hyperechoic mesentery with mild free fluid in the right iliac fossa and lumbar region; the appendix was not visible."

"Since we couldn't see the appendix, the ultrasound looked a bit strange. I'd like to get a CT scan to check it out."

A little embarrassed, Mr. Zhao lowered his voice and explained to Ji Xiang.

Ji Xiang held his breath and entered the system's operating room.

Ji Xiang has reservations about the disagreement between General Manager Zhao and Dr. Meltz.

Perhaps we could say that Mr. Zhao is being too cautious, but what if? So it's best to come to the system operating room and ask the system NPC for their opinion.

Mr. Zhao looked at Ji Xiang, who was deep in thought, and shook his head. "I've contacted Professor Sun, who's on duty. He'll be here soon. I reckon we'll need emergency surgery."

"Let's do a CT scan," Ji Xiang said suddenly after a brief moment of thought. "The ultrasound didn't show the appendix; who knows what might be going on?"

After saying that, Ji Xiang began to communicate with Dr. Meltz.

Mr. Zhao stared blankly at Ji Xiang, never expecting that Ji Xiang would actually support him.

Actually, Mr. Zhao didn't have any theoretical basis; he just wanted to be cautious, since Dr. Meltz was a foreigner.

It's not that foreigners should be given priority in everything, it's just that Mr. Zhao doesn't know what kind of trouble they might cause.

A few years ago, a man who sold cut cakes got sick, which caused him a lot of trouble, so Mr. Zhao subconsciously became more cautious.

But Ji Xiang spoke up for himself very seriously.

Mr. Zhao then saw Dr. Meltz, enduring the pain, weakly waving his arms to express his anger and denial.

Meanwhile, Ji Xiang calmly explained to Dr. Meltz.

No wonder publishing SCI papers is as easy for them as drinking water, eating, and breathing. Mr. Zhao is envious of their spoken language skills alone.

While Mr. Zhao can communicate with Dr. Meltz, his fluency and use of specialized terminology are nowhere near as good as Ji Xiang's.

"No, no, no!" Dr. Merz firmly said "no" three times in a row to express his opinion.

Ji Xiang had no choice but to say, "Teacher Zhao, you contact your director, and I'll contact Director Bai."

"!!!"

"Dr. Meltz disagreed with performing a CT scan, believing it was simply acute appendicitis requiring anti-inflammatory and surgical treatment."

"How about we do it this way?" Mr. Zhao said vaguely.

"Let's contact a senior doctor; otherwise, things could get complicated," Ji Xiang said. "A bilingual (Chinese and English) doctor-patient communication system... Shall I handle that?"

Mr. Zhao was ashamed.

Do we also need to write doctor-patient communication materials in both Chinese and English?

Is Ji Xiang planning to sue the embassy's diplomats?

It was just a simple case of acute appendicitis, and all the clinical evidence pointed to a clear diagnosis, so I was just being cautious.

Xiao Ji was speaking up for herself, but what she did... seemed a bit too forceful.

Mr. Zhao immediately backed down. Seeing Ji Xiang turn around, he followed him, wanting to explain to Ji Xiang that he was just saying it casually and that it wasn't necessary to have an abdominal CT scan done by Dr. Meltz.

But to everyone's surprise, Ji Xiang had already taken out his phone and started making calls.

The contact information—Director Bai of the Medical Affairs Department—appeared brightly on the phone screen.

Ji Xiang is actually serious!

He actually called Director Bai, in the middle of the night... General Manager Zhao broke out in a cold sweat.

To General Manager Zhao, Director Bai was like a vengeful ghost; who would want to associate with him if there was nothing wrong with him?

"Director Bai, hello, I'm Ji Xiang."

"Dr. Meltz, who came to Massachusetts General Hospital to observe and learn, has fallen ill. The initial diagnosis is acute appendicitis, and Dr. Meltz agrees with this diagnosis, requesting emergency surgery."

"My view is that the diagnosis is still unclear and an abdominal CT scan is needed to make several key differential diagnoses."

"Yes, yes, it involves foreign affairs disputes, so it's not easy for us to handle."

"I'm really sorry to trouble you, Director Bai. Although Dr. Meltz is here for learning and exchange, there is a possibility that he may be involved in foreign affairs disputes, so I can only ask you for help."

"Okay, then I'll wait for your message."

After Ji Xiang finished speaking, he hung up the phone.

"What did Director Bai say?" General Manager Zhao asked nervously.

"He meant that listening to the opinions of frontline clinicians is much better than being cautious than opening up the abdomen and finding unexpected situations."

"!!!"

Mr. Zhao almost burst into tears.

I was just saying it casually. Since Dr. Melz, who is a patient, objected, I might as well just go on stage.

The reason Mr. Zhao "reported" to Ji Xiang was also to demonstrate his professionalism.

After all, it's not easy to publish papers that are mixed with SCI publications due to the distance.

But Mr. Zhao never dreamed that Ji Xiang would take it so seriously!

His heart was filled with overwhelming sorrow.

"Xiao Ji...that's not what I meant," Mr. Zhao explained softly.

"Teacher Zhao, I think your judgment is very accurate." Ji Xiang looked at President Zhao and said seriously, "Dr. Meltz's auxiliary examinations do indeed look like acute appendicitis, but something still feels off."

Seeing Zhao's strange expression, Ji Xiang smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll talk to Director Bai and make sure you don't feel embarrassed."

"..."

Mr. Zhao had heard that Ji Xiang was generous and open-minded; after all, it was extremely rare to find a doctor who would casually give away top-tier SCI papers.

It is common for professors who teach on behalf of others to fall out with their graduate and doctoral students over one or two papers.

My first in-depth encounter with Ji Xiang revealed that this guy was even stranger than the rumors suggested.

Indeed, in Mr. Zhao's view, there is never too many SCI papers, and it is strange that he would give them away so easily.

Not only that, Ji Xiang also showed even more concern for Dr. Meltz than he did for himself.

What's going on?

Ji Xiang ignored General Manager Zhao and went to the doctor's office to write a doctor-patient communication document in both Chinese and English. He printed out three copies and took them to the dressing room.

"Dr. Meltz, this is for communication. If you want to have surgery, then sign the consent form and we'll go up to the operating table now."

Ji Xiang handed the English version to Dr. Meltz.

Dr. Meltz glanced at it twice, his expression extremely unpleasant, similar to that of General Manager Zhao, who was reading the Chinese version.

Ji Xiang made it very clear in the communication documents that the surgical team believed that a CT scan should be performed before any surgical intervention, and if possible, an emergency contrast-enhanced CT scan was recommended.

Not only should a regular CT scan be performed, but Ji Xiang even recommended an enhanced CT scan!

In an instant, a strange thought crossed the minds of both General Manager Zhao and Dr. Meltz—Ji Xiang did it on purpose.

He deliberately made a big deal out of a small matter, just to get back at Dr. Meltz.

Misuse of public resources, settling personal scores – these negative words flashed through President Zhao's mind, and he even began to regret his actions.

I never expected Ji Xiang to be this kind of person.

That's true. I heard that when he was in Shanghai, he had a very bad attitude towards Mr. Qin, the head of the hepatobiliary surgery department.

Mr. Zhao felt numb in his hands and feet, and realized he was in an awkward situation.

"Dr. Meltz, if you insist on surgery, then sign the papers. If you agree to our treatment, then hurry up and get an abdominal CT scan done."

Dr. Meltz angrily swung the communication document in his hand. Perhaps the movement was too forceful, for he let out a scream and turned pale.

But Dr. Meltz still glared fiercely at Ji Xiang, like a righteous knight fallen at the feet of a great demon king.

"This is an abuse of CT scans," Dr. Meltz said angrily.

"Whether it's an abuse or not isn't up to you to decide. You're not at Massachusetts General Hospital now, you're at the Second Affiliated Hospital," Ji Xiang said calmly. "It's just a signature. If you want surgery, sign it. Otherwise, if we open up your abdomen and find it's not appendicitis but some other disease, we'll have something to explain to you and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"You! I'm a doctor here to observe the surgery, you can't treat me like this!" Dr. Meltz roared in a hoarse voice.

"Standard medical procedures are really complicated." Ji Xiang looked at Dr. Meltz and shook his head helplessly. "Didn't you encounter similar situations when you were diagnosing and consulting at Massachusetts General Hospital?"

Dr. Meltz paused for a moment.

"That shouldn't be the case. As one of the top five large general hospitals in the world, I don't think Massachusetts General Hospital's technical capabilities should be this poor."

"It's just a simple case of acute appendicitis. Why are you doing an abdominal CT scan? What disease do you want to identify?" Dr. Meltz asked angrily after resting for a dozen seconds and regaining some energy.

"This is something I, as a patient, should know, right?"

"Oh, I suspect it's a retinal infarction."

"..."

Dr. Meltz and General Manager Zhao were stunned when Ji Xiang mentioned retinal infarction.

Omental infarction?!

Dr. Meltz was not a gastrointestinal surgeon, so he knew absolutely nothing about this type of disease.

Mr. Zhao knew about it, but he had only seen it in the margins of textbooks and in international medical journals.

In fact, he never encountered a similar patient in real life.

Ji Xiang,

They must be making excuses!

Mr. Zhao thought to himself.

Omental infarction? Absolutely not! Dr. Mertz's diagnosis is acute appendicitis!