Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Wipe off my sweat.” He Yuanzheng’s voice sounded as steady as a mountain. Even when his fingers became stiff from holding the forceps, he did not relax.
The circulating nurse used tweezers to clip some gauze and dab on He Yuanzheng’s forehead. Then, she wiped the sweat off the head of his first assistant, who was at the other side of the operating table.
A few minutes later, He Yuanzheng’s tightened muscles started to loosen up.
“We’re almost done. Release the clamps.”
As He Yuanzheng gave the command, the first assistant deliberately waited for a few seconds before he removed the vascular clamp at the hepatic portal vein.
Blood began gushing toward the part of the liver that had been previously lacking blood without hesitation.
He Yuanzheng was only able to relax for approximately ten seconds. Soon after, they entered an intense period of time where they had to stuff the abdominal cavity with gauze.
Blood gushing out from the severed part of the liver had always been the most challenging part about hepatectomy.
He Yuanzheng was able to get through it most of the time. But he also had moments where he failed to do so. That prevented him from being at ease when performing hepatectomy.
Fortunately for him, once he got through that part, the work he had to do later on became much more relaxing.
It did not take long before He Yuanzheng completed his role as the chief surgeon. He also left some miscellaneous work to his assistant.
In the past, other than abdominal closure, he would never have given the doctors who acted as his assistant any additional reward. He Yuanzheng was only in his forties. He was still practicing and climbing up the skill tree. He did not have a lot of miscellaneous work for his assistants.
However, he could not afford to not give out tasks now. Zhang Anmin was already beginning to master his skills after following Ling Ran. He Yuanzheng was also worried that there would be shifts in the hearts of those in the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery.
His assistant who was thirty-nine years and eight months old thanked him in excitement.
He Yuanzheng only hummed in response before he turned around and left the operating theater.
He removed his surgical gown and took off his cap but did not leave the surgical floor immediately. Instead, He Yuanzheng took a few steps forward and arrived at the operating theater next door.
He was able to see Ling Ran’s side profile through the round glass in the middle of the operating theater door as Ling Ran stood inside with his side turned to the door.
Ling Ran was wearing a mask, but half of his face and his eyes were exposed. He had a serious expression and a confident presence. He was exactly the same during the operation he demonstrated a few days ago.
He Yuanzheng was actually not calm. He even felt a little furious.
However, when he looked at that Ling Ran while he behaved in this manner, He Yuanzheng could not really throw a tantrum at all. The demonstration surgery was not only useful to the doctors of other hospitals, but it also shocked the doctors in Yun Hua Hospital’s Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery in all areas.
He Yuanzheng had witnessed Ling Ran perform surgeries many times over, but it was just like elementary school students watching their classmates answering questions in minor tests, as well as a high school student seeing his or her classmate’s marks for the national college examination.
It was a formal demonstration surgery to show off, and the effects were very good.
“This is the third surgery today.” The doctors from the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery who were waiting for their surgery had gathered around behind him.
He knew it. He Yuanzheng then said, “He has been performing surgeries since dawn?”
“They began surgery about six something today, I think.”
“From six until now?” He Yuanzheng looked at the clock in the corridor. He could not help but quirk his eyebrows a little.
“Yes, I suppose it’s likely because they don’t have enough patients.”
“Not enough patients…” He Yuanzheng wanted to laugh but found it impossible.
Hospitals like Yun Hua Hospital, which were the top in their region, would never experience a situation where they did not have enough patients. Truth be told, even a small department like the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery could easily fill up their hospital beds with patients, causing people to rely on connections first if they ever wanted to be admitted into the hospital.
After all, Yun Hua Hospital did not just treat diseases such as hepatolithiasis and gallstones. If they were willing to, they could also get a large number of patients with whatever illnesses they wanted to handle from Changxi Province.
There were only a handful of patients who were capable of going to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen to undergo surgery. Yun Hua Hospital was the best hospital they could find.
So, each specialist clinic was in a position where they were unable to supply enough services for the patients’ demands.
Take the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery as an example. He Yuanzheng only needed to operate in the clinic for half a day once every week in order to admit enough patients to undergo surgery for a week. If there was a situation where there were not enough patients, all he needed to do was provide consultation for another half a day.
However, He Yuanzheng knew that Ling Ran’s patients were admitted from all sorts of places.
Ling Ran was currently performing freelance surgeries in all the big hospitals across the province, resulting in many patients coming over to the local hospital to receive treatment.
There were some of the old patients who suffered hepatolithiasis and just kept on dragging out their illness for three to five years in a refusal to receive surgery. These were common. Once the people around this kind of patients who went through surgery and showed good outcomes, they would immediately attract their ill friends to come forward for treatment.
But the other hospitals within the province did not have such a high surgery proficiency. They would normally retain two to three patients who had typical symptoms for themselves, and the remaining patients would be taken over by Ling Ran when he performed freelance surgeries, or perhaps transfer them over to Yun Hua Hospital right away.
In such an environment, Ling Ran was akin to opening several clinics that provided low efficiency at the same time, but even so, he still did not have enough patients, and that was something He Yuanzheng was not familiar with.
“I will go in and take a look.” He Yuanzheng stepped open the door.
The young doctor from the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery looked left and right before he also followed after Doctor He.
Only the circulating nurse on duty today took a quick glance at He Yuanzheng and reported to Ling Ran. “Doctor Ling, Department Director He has arrived.”
“Department Director He.” Ling Ran only looked up after a few seconds. He looked at He Yuanzheng for a moment before he lowered his head again.
“Doctor Ling, I heard that you are running out of patients?” He Yuanzheng’s chest was fuelled with rage, but he did not know how to spell out the words that could express his anger.
Ling Ran looked at He Yuanzheng before he was reminded of hospital beds. So, he asked in a natural manner. “Do you guys have enough hospital beds?”
He Yuanzheng was stunned for a moment. Then, he said with a grimace, “There has never been a time where we have enough hospital beds.”
“The First People’s Hospital of Wuxin City and the Second People’s Hospital of Wuxin City also face insufficient hospital beds. But both of the hospitals have enough space. Once they form their independent hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery department, you will have space.” Ling Ran thought about how he had been using up a lot of the hospital beds for the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery lately, so he decided to speak to He Yuanzheng more.
He Yuanzheng, however, was shocked by the new information. He could not help but ask. “Their Departments of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery are about to become independent?”
That news was considered neither good nor bad for He Yuanzheng, who was from the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of Yun Hua Hospital, but it would definitely influence him a little.
The number of hospitals with independent Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery could be counted with fingers on one hand in Changxi Province. Plus, Wuxin City was the second largest city in Changxi Province. There would be two additional Departments of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery emerging in the area in one go. That would mean that in the future, they might form a huge pie, but at the same time, they might also take away a lot of their market.
In an instant, He Yuanzheng could not help but to think of something else. So, he asked Ling Ran, “Doctor Ling, you have been performing freelance surgeries for hospitals in Wuxin City, right? How’s their standard?”
“Department Director Li from First People’s Hospital of Wuxin City is probably as skillful as you are in terms of hepatectomy for hepatolithiasis, Department Director He.” Ling Ran pondered for a moment and he said, “I had him gather some medical cases with other types of hepatolithiasis recently. He should be getting skilled at it very quickly.”
“Did he learn that from you?”
“He did learn hepatectomy from me over the past few months.” Ling Ran smiled.
He Yuanzheng also smiled. It was just that his smile seemed a little anguished.
In the words of medical professionals, the First People’s Hospital of Wuxin City and the Second People’s Hospital of Wuxin City were the hospitals cultivated by Ling Ran himself. It could also be said that he brought them up. As long as Ling Ran continued climbing up the chain of command, the Departments of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of both hospitals would undoubtedly get infinitesimally closer to the standards of Yun Hua Hospital.
“I’ll let you do your work first… I still have some business to attend to, so I’ll be off.” The rage boiling in He Yuanzheng’s chest had suddenly disappeared by a large margin.
Ling Ran did not even raise his head as he responded with a simple hum. Soon after that, he was reminded of something and he said, “Department Director He, I am thinking about sending more men to gather some information. Can you make arrangements to clear a small room in your department?”
If he had said those words a few minutes ago, the question that Ling Ran brought up would have been a detonator to the bomb buried deep in He Yuanzheng’s heart. At that particular moment, He Yuanzheng merely hesitated for a few seconds before he asked, “What kind of information do you want to gather?”
“For a research paper about hepatectomy,” Ling Ran said.
“Oh… alright. Then you should have someone come over to scout a room later.” He Yuanzheng smiled. He thought to himself. ‘Don’t think too much. Once he has his fill, he’ll leave.’
