Chapter 694: Here I Come
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Take a C-arm and ultrasonography scan. I’m going to perform an exploratory laparotomy. I’ll lie down for a while,” Ling Ran conducted a simple physical examination and gave an order.
He could drink an Energy Serum but there was no way for him to relieve his muscle soreness using an Energy Serum. He also needed to rest and relax.
Surgeries on ships were very different from the type of surgeries he performed in hospitals. Although the most dangerous surgeries he performed were laparoscopic surgeries, the most labor-intensive ones had to be orthopedic surgeries. For Ling Ran, after a day of performing orthopedic surgeries, he would feel more tired than doing five hepatectomies in a hospital.
Ling Ran massaged his neck. He placed the four small benches he found next to a wall and then laid down. At first glance, it looked like a great place for a martial artist to practice kung fu in wuxia novels. There were four fulcrums that supported his body, and the person who lay above it could actually sleep peacefully.
The young nurse on the ship could not bear to watch this, but there was nothing they could do. This was the condition of the ship. The operating theater was originally smaller than that of the one in a regular hospital. Once the operating table and various machines occupied the position, there was no room left.
Zuo Cidian and the others were also unable to find a suitable place for Ling Ran because they were not familiar with the ship. Moreover, they did not have the time to find a room. Everyone was busy. Zuo Cidian had at least run back and forth the areas outside and inside the operating theater, while Lu Wenbin was used purely as a technical laborer. After he entered the operating theater, he did not come out unless he wanted to wash his hands. When he was a little bit free, Ling Ran would even force him to take a bath and get changed. For Lu Wenbin, this suffering was indescribable.
However, when the new patient arrived, he had to go up and help no matter how tired he was.
Of course, he was tired, but the patient was waiting for his life to be saved. So, even if they were working beyond their capabilities, as doctors, they could only grit their teeth and last through it.
Zuo Cidian used a lead plate to surround the operating table and put the lead jockstrap on the patient. At the same time, he connected the operator and the monitor before he shouted, “Doctor Ling, come and get dressed.”
Ling Ran got up, put on the lead bib and apron, and nodded, “I’m done.”
The health worker on the ship had the nurses in the room go out first. Then, he turned on the red flashing light at the operating theater door. He came back and gave them a few reminders before stepping on the discharge switch.
Ling Ran stood a little further away at a safer position. He waited for the direct light LED display to light up and read through the scans quickly.
If he had a choice, he would prefer an MRI scan. In terms of the information obtained, MRI scans were much more detailed than an X-ray. However, the huge size of an MRI scanner made it impossible for one to be situated on the Yun Hua 893.
A proper and large hospital ship would have an MRI scanner. The largest hospital ship in the United States, USNS Mercy, had a thousand beds and twelve operating theaters, which was more than the standard of the top three general hospitals in China. However, the facilities aboard the Yun Hua 893 were limited, and they could only use what they had installed inside.
For Ling Ran, X-rays could still provide a lot of information. Once Ling Ran read through the scan once using his Perfect Level X-ray Scan Analysis, he nodded. “His bones are fine. He has fibula and rib fractures. We will deal with them later. Let’s deal with the abdominal problem first. Prepare more blood. Remove the C-arm. We need ultrasonography.”
When the nurse immediately went to make calls, Lu Wenbin and the health workers began to deal with the lead plates and other protective equipment. Zuo Cidian looked at the anesthetist before he whispered to Ling Ran, “Doctor Ling, isn’t the blood enough?”
They were prepared to handle trauma patients in the operating theater. Hence, there were many blood supplies, but Ling Ran still asked them for more…
Zuo Cidian looked at the patient’s abdomen. If there was bleeding, it could only be abdominal bleeding. There was nothing strange if the vice-captain bled from his stomach, considering his injuries, but it was definitely not good news.
Ling Ran let out a soft hum and said, ‘His physical examination didn’t turn out well.”
Zuo Cidian knew that Ling Ran’s physical examination standard was very high. His heart instantly felt anxious.
He wanted to ask whether it was dangerous or not, but he knew it would be useless, so he had to suppress the urge of asking the question.
The ship’s health workers prepared the ultrasonography and put on the gel before giving a shout to indicate that the scan had started.
The visceral form of black and white organs was indistinct on the screen.
“There’s spleen contusion, liver contusion, kidney contusion, blood clots…” Ling Ran reported the information as he looked at the scan. Lu Wenbin and Zuo Cidian did not have much practice in this area, so they let Ling Ran explain it to get a better picture of the situation.
Zuo Cidian had his expression turn gloomy.
Having your predictions proven true was not always a pleasant thing.
“Go and check what Department Director Huo is up to. If he’s not busy, please ask him to come here.” Ling Ran made preparations, but he gave another order, “Please make things clear to him. I can handle both the liver and spleen. It would be best if Department Director Huo could handle the kidney.”
It was only then that Zuo Cidian realized that Ling Ran had never done nephrectomy before.
In fact, doctors were becoming more and more specialized in normal local hospitals. It was common that the doctors of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery would only care about hearts, the doctors of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery would only care about livers and gallbladders, and the doctors of the Digestive Surgery Department would only care about the gastrointestinal tracts. The kidney belonged to the urinary system. In hospitals like Yun Hua Hospital, certain departments would not let other departments touch their parts.
Of course, the Emergency Department often had to deal with some organ injuries on the spot. But even so, in the current training models, young doctors who encountered substantial organ injuries would still have to choose to transfer the patient or call for reinforcements as their main methods to deal with those injuries. Even if it was Huo Congjun, the only parts he was sure that he could treat well were the spleen and gallbladder. At most, he would deal with the appendix, but he would not touch other organs.
However, as far as the conditions on the ship were concerned, Department Director Huo was the most reliable one to deal with the situation.
Zuo Cidian could not help but ponder about this a little longer.
If Department Director Huo’s patients were in an emergency, would he ask Ling Ran to give up on his patient, who was in too much of a critical state? He might not directly ask him to give up, but not participating in the rescue would create an impact on the patient.
Zuo Cidian took a deep breath and said, “Doctor Ling, I’ll go.”
“You’re going?” Ling Ran looked at Zuo Cidian, but he did not object. Instead, he nodded as he said, “Hurry back.”
“Okay.” Zuo Cidian immediately turned around and left.
“Let’s do the laparotomy.” Ling Ran’s voice was heard from behind him.
Zuo Cidian sped up and constantly rehearsed his dialogue that he would say to Huo Congjun in his mind.
Every doctor at Yun Hua Hospital was traumatized to a certain degree by Old Huo.
This was especially true for junior doctors like Zuo Cidian. Sometimes, Zuo Cidian wondered that with the way everyone was scolded by Huo Congjun every day, what kind of reflex would they be conditioned into in the future?
*Shick.*
Zuo Cidian opened the door of Operating Theater 2.
Huo Congjun turned around with a bloody face and asked in a harsh tone, “What is it?”
“Urm…” Zuo Cidian looked at the wounded patient on Operating Table 2, and he found himself unable to say what he had rehearsed. After hesitating for a second or two, Zuo Cidian said, “The patient in Operating Theater 1 has kidney contusion. Doctor Ling is asking for your consultation.”
“Okay,” Huo Congjun said, “Go find Doctor Zhao and let him replace me.”
“Oh… okay,” Zuo Cidian did not expect such an answer. He then went out quickly and looked for Zhao Leyi in the treatment room.
Zhao Leyi was consulting a patient with a bone fracture. After he heard Zuo Cidian’s words, he immediately stood up and handed over his patient to Zuo Cidian.
Zuo Cidian wanted to refuse because he felt diffident. As a resident doctor, his ability to deal with patients independently was far less than Lu Wenbin’s.
“It’s just Colles’ fracture. If you can’t do it, put up the necessary protections and evacuate him.” Zhao Leyi patted Zuo Cidian on the shoulder and did not give him time to say anything.
Zuo Cidian wanted to say something, but when he heard that it was Colles’ fracture, he stopped.
He turned around and saw that the patient was staring at him.
The patient was an old fisherman, and he was about forty or fifty years old. He was thin, tan, silent, and had a pair of profound eyes. It was clear that his arm was hurting, but he persisted in enduring the pain.
Zuo Cidian let out a long sigh. “I’ll deal with your fracture.”
