Director Zhang shuddered. He was not supposed to blank out.
Was the surgery done by Professor Rudolf Wagner?
That had to be the only reasonable explanation.
He lifted his head to see the professor applying pressure to stop the bleeding while Chief Zheng casually chatted with Chief Xia in the operating console room.
What…
He approached Zheng Ren and asked with a forced smile, “Chief Zheng, how did you perform the surgery? I didn’t quite understand it. Can you explain it to me please?”
Not that he failed to understand what was going on; he had just missed the entire surgery.
Zheng Ren was unaware of that, but could he elaborate at Director Zhang’s request?
However, the key to the stent removal post TIPS was in the coordination between Professor Rudolf Wagner and himself during the operation. This was something that was not displayed in the films, so it was difficult for him to explain in words.
“There’s nothing much to talk about the surgery. The only notable point is the stent removal technique,” Zheng Ren explained. “Just need to avoid a secondary hemorrhage and injuring the hepatic tissue.”
Zheng Ren spoke as he pointed at the scans.
“…” Director Zhang was at a loss for words.
‘Who doesn’t know about this? You don’t say!’ He thought.
Nonetheless, Director Zhang was also from the same field. He knew that it was not Chief Zheng’s intention to withhold information, but he had no idea how to describe it.
He felt a sense of deep regret. He made an unforgivable mistake blanking out and missing the whole surgery.
Director Zhang gathered himself to focus on the next TIPS surgery.
If he had doubts before, it was safe to say that Zheng Ren had his full attention now. If Zheng Ren was as good as he thought, he would satisfy him with ample surgeries!
Professor Rudolf Wagner on the other hand…
Director Zhang dared not touch him.
How could they afford the world’s top professor? His surgical fee would cost at least 10,000 US dollars per procedure.
If the patients in Secondary Hospital were that rich, they could visit any hospital in the country. Why would they stay behind to die?
After 15 minutes, Professor Rudolf Wagner applied a pressure bandage on the patient and transferred the patient to the gurney with Zheng Ren’s help. The patient was then sent back to the ward by the gastroenterologist.
The patient raised his hand as he left the operating room, saying, “Thank you, Dr. Zheng.”
“You’re welcome,” Zheng Ren smiled.
This was the satisfaction of performing surgeries.
There was nothing more important to ensure that everyone is safe and sound.
After that, the patient with decompensated cirrhosis and refractory ascites was sent into the operating room.
Zheng Ren took her scans and put them up on the film viewer to check them once more before the surgery.
The professor was heavily built; he could transfer the patient easily by himself. Zheng Ren stood still, with his left arm crossed and his cheek resting on his right hand while he studied the scans.
He had spent a lot of time researching with Professor Rudolf Wagner the day before, improving the surgical method that he invented to a great extent.
He was very confident in today’s surgery. This was just a routine inspection.
“Boss, what did you and the professor research?” Su Yun came to Zheng Ren all of a sudden and asked.
“Here, the T2-weighted images with two identical gradient lobes applied on either side of the slice selection gradient for the 180° RF pulse allow us to identify the route of entry,” Zheng Ren said, pointing at the DW-MRI scans with his right hand.
The things he mentioned were so technical, even a clinical physician could not understand him.
Other than those specializing in neurology, not many people could read DW-MRI scans.
Not to mention that Zheng Ren was explaining the concept of the random movement of molecules (the brownian motion) and the effect of spin-echo used in magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted (MRDW) imaging.
Even if it sounded alien to others, Su Yun was still a brilliant scholar.
He thought for a moment and understood what Zheng Ren was trying to say. Without Zheng Ren’s idea, Su Yun would never think of using DR-MRI to locate the puncture site.
There was nothing much left to say after the revelation.
“Interesting, how did you come up with the idea?” Su Yun’s focus had always been different.
“I was wondering that we shouldn’t just depend on luck all the time. The recent advancement in TIPS surgery was to create a tunnel in the portal vein branch to mark the location and proceed to label the puncture site in the hepatic vein,” Zheng Ren said, “I think that’s quite troublesome. We can just skip those procedures with these supplementary tests.”
“It makes sense, but you need to put your theory into practice.”
“We should be seeing results soon,” Zheng Ren said confidently. “Don’t be too surprised.”
“Tsk!” Su Yun exclaimed in disdain.
Even Su Yun was entranced when he turned around to watch Professor Rudolf Wagner carry out all forms of preoperative preparation.
His boss, Zheng Ren must have had strong mental strength to have the world’s top professor assist him.
Su Yun estimated that the TIPS surgery would be done within an hour.
Even when they had to overcome so many unexpected obstacles during the emergency TIPS surgery, it did not take them too long. It would be a joke if Zheng Ren needed two hours to complete an elective TIPS surgery.
Su Yun also guessed that Zheng Ren would be puncturing about three times.
This was what a world-class surgeon could deliver.
There were only a handful of surgeons who could perform the TIPS procedure. Excluding failed surgeries, it would take an average of 15 to 20 punctures before the surgeon could successfully carry out the procedure.
Three times. This was his judgement based on his estimation of Zheng Ren’s skill.
Surprised? There was no such thing.
“Boss, prepare for surgery,” Professor Rudolf Wagner said.
Su Yun left immediately. One should avoid being exposed to radiation as much as possible. It was not the time to be competitive.
Zheng Ren and Professor Rudolf started the surgery after the lead door closed.
Su Yun stood in front of the leaded glass and observed attentively. Director Zhang was shocked when he found out that the surgeon was Chief Zheng, Zheng Ren, and not Professor Rudolf Wagner, the world’s top interventional physician in Baidu Baike.
Su Yun took out his phone and started the stopwatch when the surgery began.
He was perplexed by Zheng Ren’s confidence.
Su Yun reckoned that the surgery would take at least 40 minutes. Why would he be surprised?
Never!
Soon, the radiation was switched on. Everything went smoothly. Chief Xia was unable to gauge the situation, but Su Yun knew that Zheng Ren was operating with a speed that was on an entirely new level with the help of Professor Rudolf.
Was he not good enough?
Su Yun refused to admit that.
However, the reality was proving him wrong.
‘Bast*rd!’ Su Yun swore internally.
The puncture needle went in. Su Yun held his breath while he stared at the image on the screen.
It was not moving too fast, but it was extremely stable. It was so steady that it gave a sense of security to those who understood the surgery.
This was not an easy procedure.
It reached a point and stopped. The position seemed odd, maybe Zheng Ren planned to use this location to adjust the puncture needle.
Click.
Su Yun heard Zheng Ren pull the trigger on the puncture needle.
On the imaging screen, the puncture needle shot out and came to a halt shortly after.
