The set-up of the surgical floor at the First People’s Hospital of Wuxin City was not much different from Yun Hua Hospital, except that the surface area of the surgical floor was smaller, the grade of the operating theaters was lower, the equipment in the operating theater was less advanced, the experience of the Department of Surgery was lower, the qualification of the Department of Anesthesiology was lower, the control of nosocomial infection was weaker, and the commonly used instruments were older…
Other than that, the operating theaters between these two hospitals were not much different.
After Doctor Qu watched the patient enter the operating theater, confirmed his identity, and examined him, he took out a stack of documents, smiled, and said to the circulating nurse of the First People’s Hospital of Wuxin City whom he was not familiar with, “Nurse Li, please send the MRI scans from our side to Doctor Ling. I’ve put on a sticker on the scans, and I also wrote the order and bed number.”
Doctor Qu’s attitude was docile, and he wore a gentle smile that only appeared when he faced his boss.
The medical staff of the First People’s Hospital of Wuxin City still respected the doctor from the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center in Shanghai to a certain degree. They also felt a certain degree of affection toward Doctor Qu since he categorized the scans, put on the labels, and arranged them accordingly.
The circulating nurse of the operating theater immediately agreed, smiled, and said, “Then, I will bring them over. Do you have something you want to say to him?”
“Just say that I’m asking Doctor Ling for guidance.” Doctor Qu was also a middle-aged adult. Although he was able to say something even more embarrassing, since Ling Ran was not around, he did not find it necessary to say the even more embarrassing words.
Nurse Li smiled and took up Doctor Qu’s request before she took the stack of scans and left.
“I’ll go and wash my hands.” Doctor Qu breathed a sigh of relief before he gave a few more instructions and got ready to go out.
“Then, shall I anesthetize the patient first?” the anesthetist asked.
Doctor Qu stopped moving, thought about it, and said, “Wait for me to come back first.”
“Alright.” When the anesthetist saw Doctor Qu stepping on the door and leaving, he mumbled, “As long as you’re not worried.”
Normal freelance surgeons would just blaze through the surgery. When they entered the operating theater, they wanted their patient to be anesthetized to the point that they were like a drugged Wu Dalang. They also wanted their blood pressure to be so stable that it resembled a bedridden Pan Jinlian, and they wanted their instruments to shine as brilliantly as Ximen Qing’s sword would when he drew it.
However, that was just how things usually were. Even if Doctor Qu did not begin his work hastily, the anesthetist would not be bothered by it as well.
“I’ll take a nap,” the anesthetist said to the nurse by his side. He crossed his legs and laid down. He looked exactly like the lame version of the tiger with a white forehead and fierce eyes, who lived six miles behind Jingyang Hill, at the sixth hollow of the cave 1.2 miles up the slope. [1]
The patient lay on the cold operating table. The circulating nurse had just confirmed his particulars on his wristband, such as his name, and he felt mentally and physically ready, but at this time, for some reason, he felt slightly abandoned.
“What’s going on now?” The patient raised his head and looked at the doctor’s assistant, who was still working at the side.
The doctor’s assistant today was an attending physician from the Orthopedics Department in the First People’s Hospital of Wuxin City. He understood what Doctor Qu meant, so he dragged over a stool with his leg, sat near the patient’s leg, and calmly said, “Wait for the doctor to come back. Don’t move around, or else the draping will move out of position.”
“It’s slightly cold.” The patient moved a little again.
The attending physician from the Orthopedics Department calmly said, “Let me rephrase my words. If you don’t move, no one will see your nuts.”
The patient thought about what he had said, and the scuffling sounds disappeared.
The operating theater was as quiet as a classroom, and even the set-up was exactly the same. There was a student there who scored among the first tier during the national college examinations and was taken to a ket university, one of them scored among the second tier and got into an ordinary university, one of them got into a specialized school, and one of them was sick.
In a while, Doctor Qu returned to the operating theater.
“Wake up the anesthetist.” Doctor Qu had his hands positioned in front of his chest, and he started to put on his scrub and gloves.
The assistant woke the anesthetist from his nap, and he started performing spinal anesthesia on the patient.
The patient curled up his body and had his back face the anesthetist. His thighs stuck to his tummy, and he could not help but feel nervous.
The anesthetist was used to seeing this. He could not even be bothered to comfort the patient, and he used the usual intimidation tactic he used. “Don’t move. If I inject the wrong nerve, you may need to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair…”
The patient trembled even more greatly.
The female nurse walked over and said softly, “Relax, it’s just a small thing. We are now sanitizing your back.”
The patient trembled slightly less, just as they expected.
As Doctor Qu watched, he found the sight pitiful but also aggravating. He thought. ‘You’re in this state right now because you were overthinking. If you’re so worried, then you should have searched for more information.’
The idea just flashed in his mind briefly, and Doctor Qu’s facial expression never changed.
He would not hand his life over to some idiot and let them decide his life.
*Shick*
The circulating nurse entered the operating theater. There were two orthopedists behind her, and they were both associate chief physicians in the First People’s Hospital of Wuxin City.
“Nurse Li, you’re here. Any news from Doctor Ling?” Doctor Qu immediately asked. He did not try to hide the fact that he had asked for guidance just because two associate chief physicians of the Orthopedics Department in the First People’s Hospital of Wuxin City were in front of him.
He would not come to Wuxin City anymore, and it was highly possible that he would also not come to Changxi Province anymore in the future. Therefore, finishing today’s work well was his only aim.
Nurse Li nodded and said, “Doctor Ling said it’s a common interrupted rupture of the Achilles tendon.”
“It’s quite common, true.” Doctor Qu quickly asked, “Did he say anything else?”
“He didn’t say anything else.”
“Please think. Whatever he said will be alright.”
Nurse Li slowly shook her head. “Doctor Ling was performing surgery, so he was not free to pay attention to me.”
“I might need to trouble you to go again. Please say that the patient has had the spinal anesthesia, and we’re ready to begin operating on the surgical field. I’m prepared to perform a four-inch incision inside, and it’ll be behind the Achilles tendon through the wound. I’ve observed that Doctor Ling always makes a big incision. If it’s not enough, I will lengthen the incision, or should I lengthen it now?”
Nurse Li did not move.
If this happened in his own operating theater, Doctor Qu might have started scolding the nurse.
He was not a resident doctor who could be bullied. Hence, the reason why she did not move even after he gave her such clear instructions was clear.
However, this was not his operating theater.
Therefore, Doctor Qu could only smile and politely say, “Nurse Li, I need you to go there again.”
“You have a phone, so why aren’t you making a call? What’s the point in me running around? What if I deliver the wrong message?” Nurse Li could not be bothered to go out.
“It looks more sincere to deliver the message in person.” Doctor Qu sounded a little more severe, and his gaze turned sharp. He was like an obedient stray dog who started to feel hungry.
Nurse Li did not care. She replied with a drawl, “Opening and closing the door frequently will affect postoperative nursing care. Even if you don’t care about it, Doctor Ling will not allow it.”
This reason became stronger when Doctor Ling’s name was added into the mix.
Doctor Qu knew how serious Ling Ran was toward surgeries, so he could not help but consider things a little deeper, as he was afraid that he would end up not flattering Ling Ran instead.
“Alright, let’s make a call.” Doctor Qu surrendered.
Nurse Li rolled her eyes. She directly took out her phone, dialed a number, and said, “Doctor Qu here wants to talk to Doctor Ling.”
In a while, Ling Ran’s steady voice was heard along with some light music.
“Hello?”
A baritone with a great projection made the patient on the bed have goosebumps break all over her skin. It was too pleasant to the ears!
“Doctor Ling, I’m Old Qu.” Doctor Qu’s remaining pride did not allow him to call himself “Young Qu” when the two operating theaters were connected. He praised himself, sighed about the hypocrisy of the world, and repeated what he said to Nurse Li just now to Ling Ran.
“You are the chief surgeon, is it necessary to ask me?” Ling Ran frowned in the other operating theater.
“After all, I’m using the Zhu-Ling Achilles Repair Technique. I also hope for a chance to learn more from you.” Doctor Qu quickly jumped on the conversation and said something pleasant.
Ling Ran muttered to himself for two seconds before he said, “Four inches will not be a problem.”
“Alright, please don’t hang up the phone.” Doctor Qu lowered his head, asked for a scalpel, and started to make the incision. He said, “I’m now stripping the subcutaneous tissue…”
“Don’t strip too much.” Ling Ran took the initiative to say. In his opinion, as long as the call was connected, he would still be able to increase the success rate of the surgery, and it was not much of a problem for him to help increase the success rate of Doctor Qu’s surgery, anyway.
Doctor Qu quickly replied. A paradoxically uneasy yet relieved look was seen on his face while he kept talking,
“I’m ready to flip the tendon sheath.”
“Hematoma is quite serious. I’m starting to clean it up now.
“Got it. I’ll try to ensure the blood supply. I’m suturing the small vessel… it’s truly hard…”
The regionally anesthetized patient opened his eyes wide and listened to Doctor Qu’s obsequious voice. It seemed like he was still performing the surgery according to Ling Ran’s guidance, and the patient instantly found himself a little stunned.
The situation was different from what his sister told him!
