The Surgeon's Studio

Chapter 387: An Up-And-Coming Revolutionist

“What did you say?” Director Ren’s expression darkened as he asked.

The plump man noticed the sudden change in Director Ren’s expression. Before he could clarify, Professor Rudolf Wagner muttered unhappily, “There’s too many people in here. Are you new to the concept of sterility?”

The professor laid the surgical drapes over the patient then turned to Zheng Ren and said, “Boss, I’ll begin the cannulation.”

“Alright.” Zheng Ren was wholly-focused on the patient’s diffusion-weighted MRI scan as he needed to visualize the procedure in his mind. The appearance of the crowd in the operating room went unnoticed by the occupied chief resident.

“Lil Fugui, remind me to angle the needle 15 degrees later when we’re performing the puncture,” Zheng Ren ordered before walking away. He was going to scrub in.

“Alrighty,” Professor Rudolf Wagner answered before glaring at Director Ren and the others.

The professor held a cannula sheath as he stared down the intruding group. The unflinching look on his face made Director Ren back down, who sheepishly smiled.

Lil Fugui... What a name for the great Professor Rudolf Wagner. Director Ren left the operating room amused.

He was surprised to find Professor Rudolf Wagner performing a TIPS procedure here. He recalled Zhang Guangzhi’s explanation: the person they invited over to the Secondary Hospital was a doctor from Sea City General Hospital.

Why was the professor here then? The young doctor in the operating room had the air of a professor studying the scan on the viewer, while Professor Rudolf acted like the junior doctor, fussing over the disinfectant and surgical drapes.

Director Ren watched the scene in disbelief. He was confused at the role reversal.

The professor’s serious tone and expression reminded him of time he spent in the operating room of Heidelberg University. Professor Rudolf was not a person who made jokes.

Random scenarios ran through Director Ren’s mind.

“Director, when I was observing the surgery in Sea City General Hospital, Dr. Zheng was the lead surgeon while the professor assisted,” Director Zhang whispered in Director Ren’s ear.

“...”

Director Ren was speechless. The truth was hard to digest when he had such a high opinion of Professor Rudolf Wagner.

“The first TIPS surgery in Secondary Hospital was also successfully completed by Dr. Zheng. He managed to puncture the portal vein on the first attempt with the professor assisting.”

“...”

Director Ren’s silence continued.

The second TIPS surgery was ongoing now. Cheng Lixue muscled his way to the front of the crowd to get a good view of the screen.

The cannula was in position and the guide wire was fed into the jugular vein. It was the usual procedure to gain central venous access.

Everything was moving smoothly thus far.

The key highlight of the TIPS procedure was the puncture of the hepatic vein to the portal vein, as it was a literal stab in the dark. There was a low rate of success due to the lack of visual guidance.

Cheng Lixue kept his full attention on the screen. He was curious about the young doctor’s methods.

What was he going to do?

The puncture kit was delivered to the two surgeons inside.

Cheng Lixue’s eyes were wide as he stared unblinking at the screen. Zheng Ren was probably just lucky the first surgery went so smoothly.

It would not happen a second time.

Cheng Lixue had always been a principled doctor, but he found himself wishing for the surgery to encounter some complications.

Perhaps it was the organizational change in the hospital that incited the professor’s irrational anger toward young doctors.

He used to be able to say young doctors these days were daring and full of energy, but lacked the skills and experience; yet here he was witnessing a young doctor from Sea City General Hospital, who did not look over 30, perform a TIPS surgery: a procedure Cheng Lixue himself could not execute.

It was a blow to his pride.

Should he step down and let the young take over?

No, that was not an option.

The whole control room was unusually quiet. Anyone who knew the procedure was paying close attention to the screen, waiting for the most important step. The others, who only knew the procedure’s name, kept their mouths shut in the presence of Director Ren and Director Zhang.

No one dared to interrupt the tense silence in the control room. Anyone who spoke up unnecessarily was likely to earn Director Ren’s ire, as he was captivated by the ongoing surgery.

Through the radiation shielding glass, they could see Zheng Ren and Professor Rudolf were in the middle of a discussion. The puncture needle shifted slightly, then was held in position.

‘Seems like they aren’t proficient either,’ Cheng Lixue thought to himself, grinning as if he had won the battle.

If they had it down to a T, they would not be having a discussion partway through the surgery.

His victory lasted less than 20 seconds. On the screen, the shunt was inserted via the wire guide.

A success?

With Cheng Lixue’s level of understanding, he could not make out what had happened. His interventional skills were limited to liver cancer treatments such as radiofrequency ablation. He did not bother to expand his skillset and the TIPS surgery was undoubtedly beyond his capabilities.

‘No way... No way...’ Cheng Lixue chanted in his mind.

He was going to be disappointed.

The shunt reached the target site and was deployed, connecting the hepatic vein and the portal vein.

Cheng Lixue had witnessed this surgery from start to end.

Despite that, he had no idea how Zheng Ren succeeded. even Director Ren was at a loss.

At this point, Director Ren realized age was catching up to him.

The world belonged to the next generation, to doctors like this young chief resident from Sea City General Hospital.

The TIPS procedure was viewed as one of the most difficult surgeries, and yet he successfully performed the puncture on the first attempt. No wonder the Heidelberg University professor flew all the way to China to be his assistant.

In modern day speech, this was known as an intellectual exchange. In the past, it would be said the professor was learning a trade.

Whether it was Lil Fugui or a random doctor, they would be considered a world-class surgeon after learning this skill.

This young doctor... He was an up-and-coming revolutionist.

While Director Ren was caught up in his thoughts, the second shunt was set in place.

Once he got over his surprise, Director Ren turned to Director Zhang. “Old Zhang, is this second shunt to prevent hepatic encephalopathy?”

“Uh, yes, Director Ren. Usually a second shunt isn’t placed as during the removal process, it could potentially cause a major bleed.”

Director Zhang got straight to the point. There was no point speaking in riddles with the director; it would only irritate him.

“At Sea City General Hospital, Chief Zheng performed two TIPS procedures. One of them was an emergency case to stop the bleeding. In both surgeries, they set removable shunts. They already successfully removed one of the shunts and the patient was discharged today.”

“Amazing!” Director Ren exclaimed.

“Yes. Hence why I was so adamant that we invite him over to perform the surgery. We might never get another chance if he becomes a bigshot.”

“How much does one surgery cost?”

“5,000 yuan. For the financially needy, the hospital will cover 3,000 yuan,” Director Zhang said.

Director Ren frowned and turned to stare at the busy pair in the operating room. “Nonsense! That price is a slap to the professor’s face and ours!”