Chapter 274 - 208: Triumphant Return to City No. 1 Hospital, Initiating the Grand Plan (3)

Chapter 274: Chapter 208: Triumphant Return to City No. 1 Hospital, Initiating the Grand Plan (3)

"So, we were wondering if you could help us formulate a surgical plan, incorporating both your Perfect Triple Method auxiliary technique and your now-famous immunotherapy!"

Tang Long, Huo Yun, and Cai Qi all looked expectantly at Wu Ting.

Wu Ting didn’t answer right away. Instead, he began to once again review the patient’s condition in comprehensive detail.

When it came to the various aspects of hepatobiliary surgery, Wu Ting’s diagnostic skills for cholecystitis were indeed far beyond those of the directors present.

Upon closer inspection, Wu Ting did indeed notice a few subtle irregularities.

"Director Cai, could you provide me with the patient’s gallbladder size, bile acoustic transmission, intra-gallbladder echogenicity, gallbladder wall thickness, and its relationship to adjacent organs..."

Of course, Cai Qi was quick to comply with Wu Ting’s request. When it came to cholecystitis, Wu Ting had already established more than enough authority.

To provide Wu Ting with the best possible results, the director of the ultrasound department personally performed another detailed bedside examination.

"Dr. Wu, the patient has gallbladder polyps and thickened bile with poor acoustic transmission. The gallbladder wall is unevenly thick—over 7mm at its thickest point. It’s adhered to the surrounding tissue with poor mobility, and there’s an increase in surrounding cord-like hyperechoic bands and spots..."

Wu Ting suddenly stopped the ultrasound director mid-report.

Pointing at a spot on the thickened wall in the image, Wu Ting circled it.

"Here. Give me a few more angles..."

Seeing Wu Ting’s solemn expression, the hearts of the directors present skipped a beat. Huo Yun and Cai Qi, in particular, as veteran experts in the hepatobiliary field, immediately thought of a certain possibility.

The ultrasound director investigated the area and gasped in surprise.

"Dr. Wu, how did you spot that?! The gallbladder wall in this area is coarse and thickened. You can vaguely see an irregularly shaped, hypoechoic mass on the inner wall protruding into the gallbladder lumen... And the common bile duct is dilated!"

The directors exchanged uneasy glances.

"Dr. Wu, is it really primary gallbladder cancer?"

Cai Qi couldn’t help but ask.

In truth, as soon as the words left her mouth, Cai Qi already knew the answer.

As senior attending physicians, they knew very well that gallbladder mucosal hyperplasia—caused by inflammation from gallstones, chronic cholecystitis, polyps, and the like—carried a high potential for becoming cancerous.

Pathologically speaking, the deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid formed in infected bile are both carcinogens.

It was just that the presence of gallbladder polyps, cholecystitis, and a porcelain gallbladder made certain areas non-characteristic on the scans, which often led to a missed diagnosis.

According to the literature, B-mode ultrasound has a 48.6% diagnostic accuracy for primary gallbladder cancer. However, in cases complicated by cholecystitis, gallbladder polyps, and a porcelain gallbladder, that accuracy drops to a mere 1.5%!

Wu Ting was able to make such a sharp connection due to his sensitivity to certain indicators of primary cancer, combined with his Grandmaster Level diagnostic skills for cholecystitis-related diseases.

With this suspicion in mind, the directors immediately ordered targeted contrast-enhanced scans.

Finally, it was confirmed: the patient had gallbladder cancer.

While they were fortunate that Wu Ting’s sharp eye had caught the concomitant gallbladder cancer, the diagnosis instantly raised the difficulty of the surgery by several levels.

It was upgraded directly from a cholecystectomy to a radical resection for gallbladder cancer!

A radical resection for gallbladder cancer involves not only removing the gallbladder but also a partial liver resection and a regional lymph node dissection. On top of that, the common bile duct and common hepatic duct would also need to be addressed...

Instantly, a shadow fell over the faces of Huo Yun and Cai Qi.

Even Dean Tang hadn’t expected the situation to take such a turn.

"I’ll go speak with President Tang. You all continue your discussion. When it comes to treating hepatic tumors, our hospital’s capabilities are somewhat lacking. If we can’t do it, we’ll have to recommend the patient transfer to another hospital."

Dean Tang didn’t dare make any promises, not when the patient was the father of a close family friend from his childhood.

Cai Qi’s first instinct was to back down. Huo Yun was daring enough to try, but he couldn’t guarantee the outcome. Besides, surgeons have a "golden age." Lately, Director Huo had been transitioning more toward an administrative role. He’d also been swamped with overtime, traveling back and forth between Xiao City and Fan City, and both his energy and stamina were starting to wane.

Elder Tang’s physical condition was particularly poor, and such a major operation demanded immense energy, endurance, and stamina. If Director Huo were just five years younger, he would have taken the lead without a second thought.

Did they really have to recommend a transfer?

"Director Huo, Director Cai, while I can’t perform the entire radical gallbladder cancer resection by myself, I can handle the partial hepatectomy, the cholecystectomy, and the procedures on the common bile duct. The only part I’m not confident in is the lymph node dissection and the handling of the nerves and connective tissues..."

Huo Yun’s eyes lit up when he heard this.

"That’s more than enough! I can assist you. If I’m only handling the lymph node dissection and the nerve and connective tissues, I have plenty of stamina and energy for that!"

"But there’s still one more problem. The patient’s constitution is very poor. Even if we work together and successfully complete a laparoscopic radical resection, can his body withstand it? And what about his prognosis?"

At this, Wu Ting smiled confidently.

"That’s even less of a problem. I’ve recently been working with the directors of hepatobiliary surgery at Jinggang University Affiliated First Hospital and studying under my mentor, Professor Shen. Through repeated practice, I’ve mastered using immunotherapy to promote a patient’s postoperative recovery and reduce complications."

"And during the operation itself, I have the Perfect Triple Method to assist with the laparoscopic technique..."

"So, when it comes to Elder Tang’s surgery, as long as Director Huo can handle the lymph node dissection and the nerve and connective tissues, we can successfully complete the procedure."

If Wu Ting had made such a claim before, they never would have dared to take the risk—not with such an important patient, and certainly not with both Dean Tang and President Tang waiting in the wings.

But the lecture at Jinggang University Medical College was still fresh in the directors’ minds.

His immunotherapy and Perfect Triple Method had won over even the country’s top experts and professors.

"Alright, our surgical plan is set then. The only thing left is to see what the family thinks. After all, President Tang Shengjie is very well-connected. They only chose the local Fan City First Hospital because they thought it was a routine cholecystectomy."

Huo Yun sighed with a mix of shame and resignation as he said this.

Fan City First Hospital’s hepatobiliary surgery department, especially in the field of liver tumors, really couldn’t be considered top-tier in Jin Province.

Outside the conference room, Dean Tang found President Tang.

Tang Shengjie was beside himself with worry when he learned his father had gallbladder cancer.

But he was a powerful man, after all. He quickly composed himself and began contacting top liver tumor specialists in Xiao City and Xianglin City.

He contacted two people: Director Fu Jinfen and Dean Chen Bofeng.

In a striking coincidence, they both gave him the same answer: "If your father is at Fan City First Hospital, have Dr. Wu Ting take the lead on the surgery. If Dr. Wu Ting isn’t there, you can transfer your father to our hospital, but we’d still have to get Dr. Wu Ting to be the one to operate."