“There’s cardiac tamponade. I’m about to slice it open to reduce the pressure,” Faulkner ordered as he gazed at the surgical field.
As he was not familiar with the people helping him out, it was better for him to state what he was about to do beforehand.
Department Director Kang, who was panting, heard the interpreter’s rendition of Faulkner’s words and quickly said, “Prepare for blood transfusion. When the heart is sliced open and the pressure lowers, a lot of blood would gush out.”
“I’ve already prepared the blood bags,” the anesthetist said in a soft voice.
Department Director Kang turned and saw a couple of blood bags that had already been defrosted. He could not help but click his tongue. “Good job, you’re improving day by day. You’re able to take things into consideration even before the chief surgeon did.”
The chief surgeon was a foreigner, so he was not worried about offending him.
As the anesthetist chuckled happily, he saw Huo Congjun’s solemn expression. He trembled violently, and in a hurry, said, “Doctor Ling was the one who asked me to prepare for blood transfusion. I don’t dare to take credit for that…”
The aura Huo Congjun emanated was so powerful that the young attending physician spoke out what was on his mind. He even did it in such an eloquent manner.
With his power and capabilities, of course, he did not dare take credit for what Ling Ran had done. It was not about anything major, and it was not something that Ling Ran would get to flaunt about. Even so, he did not dare to offend Ling Ran and Huo Congjun.
This was especially true because Huo Congjun who was in the midst of invading the territory of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department was emanating an extremely fierce aura. The anesthetist did not want to become a victim of Huo Congjun’s.
As expected, Huo Congjun flashed a slight smile.
The fact that Ling Ran made a correct judgment greatly increased Huo Congjun’s confidence in him carrying out cardiovascular surgeries. In Huo Congjun’s opinion, Ling Ran was able to learn anything quickly due to his talent. All Ling Ran had to do now was to learn how to carry out cardiovascular surgeries and train his subordinates. At that time, they would naturally be able to invade the Cardiovascular Surgery Department’s territory.
Huo Congjun could not help but start thinking about how, aside from offering consultation for patients with liver problems, the Emergency Medical Center could also offer consultation for patients with joint problems in their hands and legs, knee joints, heart, and digestive tract… He began to imagine the placards outside the door.
He would make sure that the placards were made of Phoebe zhennan wood, and the offices must be three times larger than the ones they have now. There should be couches in the waiting room aside from several stools. The treatment room must be huge too. They would also be taking in more patients for surgery. He would make sure that the department was well-equipped with all the best furniture and machinery for no other reason other than the fact that they were filthy rich…
Department Director Kang’s expression changed a little, and he said in disbelief, “Doctor Ling, you know how to perform cardiovascular surgeries too?”
Ling Ran did not hear him, and even though the junior doctors in the operating theater heard it, they did not dare say anything.
An image appeared in Department Director Kang’s mind. His office table was at the center of the image. He imagined the photograph frames and all his other personal belongings being piled up in a corner to clear the table. He then imagined himself sitting before the table and reading medical record after medical record, trying to collect enough information for a research paper even though he was not at the age of retirement yet.
“Prepare the aspirator,” Ling Ran’s voice rang out.
Department Director Kang looked over with a dumbfounded expression, and Ling Ran’s handsome and confident face was the first thing that appeared in his field of vision.
That was when Faulkner said something in English.
The interpreter hesitated for a few seconds. He then repeated what Ling Ran said before he interpreted Faulkner’s words, “Prepare a catheter.”
The people in the operating theater looked at each other. They soon understood what was going on.
Ling Ran had taken something into consideration before Faulkner again.
“Doctor Ling, you know how to perform cardiovascular surgery, don’t you?” Faulkner asked.
“I’ve never actually done it,” Ling Ran answered.
“Oh, I was like this back then too. I practiced privately for a long time before I got my first opportunity from a cardiovascular surgeon.” Faulkner was emotional as he reminisced about his past.
The interpreter interpreted what Faulkner said, and Department Director Kang from the Cardiovascular Surgery Department could hear his heart shatter.
He felt tremendously upset. It was unhealthy for him to listen to the conversation between these two doctors.
“Do you dare to go into action?” Faulkner asked another question, and he was starting to sound like how he did back when he was in Mayo Clinic.
Faulkner was an attending physician, and he never got to show off when he was in Mayo Clinic because he was merely an ordinary surgeon. However, no matter how ordinary a surgeon in Mayo Clinic was, the fact that he made it to Mayo Clinic was extraordinary in itself. It was just like how an ordinary member of a professional sports team would be a lot more athletic compared to other people in society.
Plus, Faulkner was used to being the chief surgeon. As he dealt with Ling Ran now, he felt like he was dealing with a junior doctor who was in Mayo Clinic for in-service training.
It was not because he had forgotten how good Ling Ran’s performance in the operating theater was, it was purely out of habit. Moreover, they were not performing gastrectomy or hepatectomy, which Ling Ran was renowned for, and Faulkner had a psychological advantage now that they were carrying out cardiovascular surgery.
It could not be denied that Faulkner was compelled to look down on Ling Ran because of his nationality and age. He did not deliberately look down on Ling Ran; it was basically second nature to him. In hospitals like Mayo Clinic, every single surgery in the operating theaters had an audience, and the audience mostly consisted of young doctors from third world countries like Ling Ran.
Faulkner’s tone was a little arrogant as he asked Ling Ran the question.
Ling Ran answered nonchalantly, “I can do it.”
“Haha, as expected from a young man. Very gutsy. Go ahead and clear the blood in the pericardium as well as the blood clots. Can you see them clearly?” Faulkner treated Ling Ran the same way he usually treated his assistants.
From Faulkner’s perspective, he was actually treating Ling Ran very well already. If another doctor had been there instead of Ling Ran, Faulkner would not have given that doctor a chance at all.
Ling Ran hummed in acknowledgment before he replied loud and clear, “I can see it clearly. I’ll deal with the blood in the pericardium now.”
Ling Ran extended his hand and asked for an instrument as he spoke. He then lowered his head a little and got to work.
Faulkner chuckled as he watched Ling Ran. He was feeling pretty at ease.
There was not actually much difference between this maneuver and debriding as well as suturing a patient’s wound. It was just more complicated in nature because the heart was involved.
Most of the time, a doctor did not need to be too skillful to carry out a certain surgery, as the most difficult part about many surgeries was the responsibility that came with them.
If a surgeon were to accidentally puncture a patient’s gallbladder during cholecystectomy, the patient’s abdominal cavity would be filled with bile and gallstones. Even though the surgery would be pronounced a failure, the patient would not suffer from any serious sequela. Hence, the doctor could enlist the help of those in the operating theater with him to cover up the matter.
However, the same could not be done with cardiovascular surgery, as the room for error was extremely small. A tiny mistake could lead to a patient’s death, and if the patient died, nothing could be covered up.
To the patients, if their wounds were not properly debrided or sutured, they would at most be left with a scar. But if their hearts were not dealt with properly, things would not be as simple.
Even though Faulkner was letting Ling Ran operate on the patient, he was still vigilant.
Then, half a minute later, Faulkner saw that the heart was exposed.
“Erm, you don’t actually have to be this fast.” Faulkner felt his legs go limp as he gazed at Ling Ran, who was still carefully clearing the blood clots in the pericardium.
Ling Ran did not respond to him. He waited for a few seconds and said, “The location of the bleeding point is quite evident. I’m going to apply pressure to control the bleeding.”
“Erm… you don’t have to be this fast,” Faulkner repeated.
Ling Ran gazed at the beating heart and slowly reached out.
Faulkner felt his heart skip a beat when he saw how decisive Ling Ran was with his maneuver.
After only a few seconds later, Ling Ran spoke again, “I’m ready to start suturing.”
Ling Ran possessed Perfect Level Barehanded Bleeding Control, and it went perfectly with Master Level Cardiac Trauma Repair. Before Faulkner realized what was going on, Ling Ran was already in control of the surgery.
The patient’s injury was not very complicated, to begin with. All they had to do was clean the wound, apply pressure to stop the bleeding, and suture the wound.
Of course, the fact that the wound involved was located on the heart made the whole thing a lot classier.
But there were not many differences to the process of the surgery.
Faulkner merely asked Ling Ran to clean the wound just now, but Ling Ran had already applied pressure on the wound to stop bleeding. Now, only the last step was left.
Faulkner hesitated for a few seconds and glanced at Huo Congjun’s expression. He could not help but sigh. “Ling Ran, are you confident in suturing?”
“No problem. I’ll go ahead and suture the wound, then.” As Ling Ran spoke, he extended his hand and asked for a surgical thread.
Faulkner nodded and gave Ling Ran a reminder, “Make sure that the patient receives adequate blood, as there’s a possibility that he might lose more blood during the healing process.”
Department Director Kang from the Cardiovascular Surgery Department stared at the operating theater with his eyes wide and mouth agape. He could not help but say, “Doctor Ling, you might not be used to suturing a wound on the heart…”
*Puncture*
With a slight sound, Ling Ran had already inserted the needle into the heart.
