Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Using the microscope he was familiar with, Ling Ran gently connected the small part of the patient’s thumb together to the rest of her thumb together.
If a layman did not consider the importance of a fingertip, then finger replantation would most likely just be a very small surgery in that layman’s eyes, since the surgeon was really just suturing the finger together. Then, the surgeon would just need to clean the blood stains on the surface of the skin. Once the severed finger was replanted, even a regular person would not be turned off at the sight.
However, in the world under the microscope, the difficulty of a finger replantation was like an architecture trying to reconnect a building that was broken into two.
And the surgery would only become more complicated if the surgeon wanted to ensure that the replanted fingers retain their dexterity.
Luckily, human blood vessels could repair themselves. As long as the finger did not go through necrosis, the severed blood vessels, especially blood capillaries, could still display an indomitable spirit and regenerate. It could be said that the self-healing ability in a human body was the backbone of finger replantations.
But even so, the estimated surgery time for a four-fingered finger replantation was more than twenty hours.
Once the surgery was confirmed and the related forms handed to the operating theater management group in the hospital, the operating theater that Ling Ran used could not be assigned any other surgery for the next twenty hours. But if he ended the surgery early, then the operating theater could be temporarily used for emergency surgeries.
People like Lu Wenbin, Ma Yanlin, and Yu Yuan went in and out of the operating theater. When the surgery reached the sixth hour, they would have the opportunity to go out and rest.
The doctors who gathered and watched had naturally disappeared.
The doctors from the Emergency Department in Yun Hua Hospital were envious of Ling Ran’s surgical techniques, but they would not spend a few hours to watch the surgery if they did not have any chance to improve their skills in the Hand Surgery Department.
Ling Ran and Chief Physician Wang Haiyang spent about eight hours in total before they finally only reconnected all four fingers together.
Wang Haiyang, who had graying hair, was so tired that he felt his bones ache. He muttered, “We finally sutured them all.”
Ling Ran satiated for now, stretched his body before he took off the mask.
Lu Wenbin and Ma Yanlin stood by his side and quickly sutured the flap.
In small hospitals, even flap sutures were very difficult tasks. If the process was not done well, the patient’s skin would easily match the Frankenstein Monster’s. The parts of the skin would be of different colors, and it would be wrinkled, like hundreds of clothing had been stitched together. However, if the suture was done excellently, while still visible, would be far more acceptable.
Lu Wenbin and Ma Yanlin had practiced for half a year. Their current flap incision skills were comparable to the junior attending physicians in the Surgery Department, the junior attending physicians might even have as many chances as Lu Wenbin and Ma Yanlin to practice their skills.
Wang Haiyang looked at these assistants, rubbed his waist, smiled, and said, “It’s so good to be young, unlike me. I’m old, if you ever let me perform a surgery like this again, I will have to retire soon.”
“Will you work as a freelance surgeon after your retirement?” asked Ling Ran.
“Haha,” Wang Haiyang chuckled. Then, he looked at Ling Ran’s serious face and wondered whether he was really joking.
“I’ll massage you for a while,” Ling Ran said while he grabbed Wang Haiyang’s elbow, and he used the pushing technique with his fingers to slightly relax the muscles near Wang Haiyang.’s spine.
Wang Haiyang hissed, but soon, a look of relaxation appeared on his face.
“You’re good at this,” Wang Haiyang chuckled while he nodded. Then, he said, “This technique is good, it’s pretty useful… Oh yes, you are really good at the Achilles tendon repair technique now, right? Do you want me to contact some people for you so that you can perform freelance surgeries?”
“Could you?” Ling Ran was obviously interested.
“Of course. You’re the one who performed the Achilles tendon repair for Liu Weichen. I heard there are even foreign patients coming for you. I’ll help you publicize your skills a little. Once you eat with them a few times, you will be familiar with them.”
Ling Ran hummed before he said, “I don’t go out for meals.”
“You still have to go. Social connections are necessary,” Wang Haiyang chuckled and said, “If you don’t make social connections, how can people come to know you?”
Ling Ran answered like he was very experienced, “Sometimes, if you don’t go to these social activities, you get more opportunities at work.”
This was indeed the conclusion Ling Ran made based on his experiences.
Wang Haiyang was stunned, and he could not refute those words.
Someone with Ling Ran’s personality could easily end up stepping on the wrong toes at such social events.
He hesitated for a while before Wang Haiyang decided to change the subject. He said, “In short, I’ll help you arrange freelance surgeries. If you’re willing to do them, there will not be any problem. Oh yes, do you have any requests on specialist fees, the location, number of people, or something else?”
Ling Ran had followed Wang Haiyang to do freelance surgeries before. He was not really interested in the income earned from freelance surgeries, so he blurted out without thinking, “I’ll be good as long as the hospital increases the turnover rate.”
Wang Haiyang was quiet for a few seconds before he said, “You’re talking about the hospital bed turnover rate, right?”
“Yes, I did not use the full terminology,” Ling Ran explained perfectly.
“Then, I will arrange a few surgeries at once. You don’t care about the fee, right?” Wang Haiyang said as he took off his surgical gown. He then said, “Actually, you shouldn’t act this way. You should increase your specialist fee before you talk about the number of surgeries.”
Ling Ran thought for a while before he said, “The number of surgeries matters more.”
“Ah… fine.” What else could Wang Haiyang say?
Both of them talked while they went out. They also handed the operating theater to someone else.
The doctors and nurses in the department were used to this. Some junior attending physicians would even help to clean up the operating theater. Senior attending physicians or doctors who were ranked even higher would not have the strength even if they wanted to help. Besides, most doctors did not have the mood to handle such trivial matters.
“I can perform knee arthroscopic meniscoplasty too.” Ling Ran took a few steps forward so that he could remind Wang Haiyang of this.
Wang Haiyang’s eyes light up. “Did you learn it from Academician Zhu?”
Ling Ran did not have the mood to explain. So, he only said, “I performed about fifty cases in the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center, the effects were all very good. I will let Yu Yuan write a tracking report for you to read later.”
“Hmm, meniscoplasty is very suitable for freelance surgeries, but… You need to instill more confidence in the patients and their families,” Wang Haiyang said in an indirect manner, but what he meant was that he felt Ling Ran had still not built up his reputation in this field of surgery.
Ling Ran who had mastered the Perfect Level Knee Arthroscopic Meniscoplasty just nodded and did not refute Wang Haiyang’s words at all.
If Wang Haiyang said he did not have a reputation for this, it simply meant that he did not have a reputation for it, there was no need for any additional explanation. His reputation would naturally increase as the number of meniscoplasty surgeries he performed increased.
Wang Haiyang was worried that Ling Ran would be unhappy, so he chuckled and said, “It’ll be the correct move for you if you practice meniscoplasty for one or one and a half months, this is an elective surgery, and it’s easier to accumulate freelance surgeries of this sort. When you’re famous in this surgery, you can perform four or five surgeries at once…”
For the four techniques that Ling Ran had mastered currently, the finger replantation and M-tang technique were considered in emergency surgeries. If the injuries were not sutured within twenty-four hours, there was no longer any need to suture the wound.
Achilles tendon repairs could be delayed for a few days, but if the patient wanted a good recovery, then it would be best if the patient does not delay the surgery, because the Achilles tendon repair could be performed on a fresh tendon. In short, if calculations were made based on days, while an Achilles tendon repair performed on chronic ruptured tendon could wait, its effects would definitely not compare to a ruptured tendon that received surgery while the rupture was fresh.
Only knee arthroscopic meniscoplasty could be delayed for many days before the patient required surgery, and that included athletes.
Wang Haiyang naturally felt that meniscoplasty was the best when he thought about things in the perspective of how convenient it would be for freelance surgeries to be arranged and when he did not think about things in terms of heroism.
Ling Ran did not explain much. When he was back in his office, he sent a WeChat message to Huo Congjun. Three hours later, he got himself two patients who required meniscoplasty.
When it came to the ability to attract patients, Yun Hua Hospital was much stronger than one hundred Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Centers. In Changxi Province, Yun Hua Hospital, the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, and the provincial hospital were at the same level. Each of their departments had their own specialties. Their influence reached the entire province, and even some of the areas around the province. Other hospitals within the hospital were theoretically considered as subordinates of these three hospitals, and they shared a relationship where the three hospitals provided these hospitals professional guidance. Unless the patients from the whole province could not satisfy the tertiary Grade A hospitals, then they would never run out of patients.
In fact, if the patients from the whole province were taken under the care of the top three tertiary Grade A hospitals in Changxi, the lifespan of the people in Changxi Province might increase by at least five to six years.
Therefore, the patients who were referred to Yun Hua Hospital would not be dissatisfied.
..…
On the next day, Ling Ran only started his ward round at 8 o’clock.
He had just returned to Yun Hua Hospital, so he did not have many patients to check on during his ward round. He mainly wanted to take a look at the condition of the patient who had four replanted fingers.
When he arrived at the ward, he saw that the patient was awake and was very excitedly watching a show with her phone.
The sound of doctors entering the ward woke up the patient’s mother. She raised her head and tugged her hair a little. She then frowned and looked at her daughter. “I told you that looking at the screen will injure your eyes after you receive your surgery, why are you still watching your phone?”
“I did not have time when I was working. Now, I finally have time to rest, it’s okay for me to watch some shows.” The girl could not move one of her hands, so she paused the video with her other hand before she looked at the doctors and smiled. She then said, “I think I recover quite quickly, and I don’t feel much pain. Is it time for me to discharged yet?”
“The effects from the anesthetics have not worn off yet.” Ling Ran looked at the pain pump connected to her body and said, “You need to prepare to stay here for a long time. Although the survival rate of finger replantation is higher, you must not miss any of the treatment during the perioperative period.”
“Oh.” The girl was not stubborn. She smiled and said, “My finger should have recovered well by now, right?”
“We still can’t be sure,” said Lu Wenbin quickly.
“I know, I know.” The girl waved her hand before she turned around and said, “Mom, look, the doctor also said that the survival rate for my replanted fingers is very high. You don’t have to be overly worried about that all the time.”
“Do you think I’m overly worried? It’s because you’re not worried that you’re in this state right now.”
“It is because you take care of too many aspects of my life that I’m not worried.”
“Excuse me… Please do not argue. The patient must try to remain calm. If you are emotional, the change in your blood pressure will easily cause dangerous situations to occur, like thrombus. Please take note of that.” Yu Yuan stood out and reminded them. Although she was short, her voice was loud.
The patient and her mother were slightly embarrassed, so they put on a show of calming down.
The doctors who got used to this situation continued their ward rounds as usual.
Doctors might run into all sorts of strange things in the hospital. The argument between the patient and their families could only be considered a common occurrence.
