The Surgeon’s Studio

Chapter 108: Preoperative Double Contrast-Enhanced Imaging

Chang Yue explained every detail, including immediate fasting to hasten testing and hospital admission fees, to Zheng Yunxia in two minutes.

‘This girl looks cold but is actually enthusiastic. How good it would be if she could treat me the same way she usually treats patients.’ Zheng Ren was daydreaming as he read a book.

Passion and mindfulness were, beyond doubt, the most essential qualities a good clinician needed to have.

…

…

An hour later, Zheng Yunxia appeared in the emergency ward.

As expected, she had a sallow complexion, a typical symptom of liver disease.

From her sparse and messy hair, she had to have trimmed it herself at home. Men’s haircuts cost anywhere between fifteen to twenty yuan, which could be saved up for better food once in a while.

The collar and cuffs on her plain-looking clothes were worn, but very clean.

Zheng Yunxia was calm, showing no sign of joy or, from before, dejection. She looked more like a visiting family member than a patient about to be admitted for surgery.

“Little Chang, here I am,” greeted Zheng Yunxia as she entered the office, standing by the desk.

“Miss Yun, hold on, I’ll handle your admission process.” Chang Yue launched the patient management system and began filling the entry for her.

“Little Su, you’re here too.” Zheng Yunxia scanned the area and spotted Su Yun on his phone behind Zheng Ren, whom she completely ignored.

Su Yun’s right thumb, index finger and middle finger were twisted together in a strange manner.

“Hi.” He raised his head and smiled before continuing his simulation.

“Chief Zheng, give me the manager’s phone number,” said Chang Yue as Zheng Yunxia left to pay the bill after completing her registration.

Zheng Ren slipped out his phone and sent Manager Feng’s phone number to Chang Yue via WeChat.

“What are you going to do?”

“I want to confirm details such as the types of imaging the professor wants to see before surgery.” Chang Yue seemed reckless at times, but was actually a meticulous person.

Zheng Yunxia had undergone contrast-enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI) half a month ago, which Chang Yue could assume was more than enough to proceed with the surgery, but she had to ask regardless, just in case.

Manager Feng was unavailable, but another greenhorn picked up, promising to look into her inquiry.

Soon, Manager Feng returned her call.

“Hello, Doctor Chang. The professor says a double contrast-enhanced image is needed.”

The so-called double contrast-enhanced image referred to contrast-enhanced NMRI and a contrast-enhanced 64-slice CT scan with image reconstruction.

These were completely different imaging processes but required intravenous injections of contrast agents, which meant the patient had to wait five to seven days between them. Moreover, due to their relatively high cost, hospitals in small cities rarely performed double contrast-enhanced imaging as preoperative tests.

Only professors in Imperial Capital and Sorcery Capital were accustomed to double contrast-enhanced imaging films.

“The patient underwent a contrast-enhanced NMRI of the liver ten days ago, so for the 64-slice… Can we skip it? I mean if it isn’t really necessary…” Chang Yue insisted.

Zheng Ren and Su Yun heard the conversation clearly after she put it on loudspeaker, presumably unable to argue further.

“Doctor Chang, this was Professor Pei’s request.” Manager Feng did not have the courage to make the call on his own.

“The patient’s financial condition…” Chang Yue went silent immediately.

After all, Manager Feng was not the surgeon, so negotiation was impossible at this stage.

“Alright, Manager Feng. We’ll contact you again after all tests are complete,” replied Chang Yue before hanging up.

“Zheng Ren, is it really necessary?” she asked.

“Of course,” Before Zheng Ren could answer the question, Su Yun spoke up while brushing his black bangs aside, “In the arterial phase of NMRI, by checking for abnormal blood supplies in the liver, we can detect the presence of dysplastic lesions that cannot be seen in a normal CT scan; as for the 64-slice CT scan of the liver… Hehe.”

He smirked.

“Why the hell are you even leaving us hanging? Spit it out already.” Whenever Chang Yue faced Su Yun, her aura intensified and the eleven boxes of Snow began radiating immense pressure, like a mountain.

“…” Su Yun was perplexed as this was the first time he had met such a woman.

“We can check lipiodol deposition within the tumor cells in a liver CT scan, but that’s all I know about it,” replied Zheng Ren.

“Isn’t that a bit complicated?” Chang Yue frowned.

“Interventional radiology isn’t just a simple diagnostic test; it has therapeutic effects on hepatocellular carcinoma as well,” Su Yun said, “I’ve a mentor who is particularly skilled in this domain—one of the top five surgeons in this country.”

Zheng Ren locked onto the word Su Yun used—mentor.

Su Yun must have great respect for his mentor. Strangely enough, for a man with zero self-awareness, he was actually capable of reverence for someone other than himself.

Such critique felt undeserved, however, as Su Yun had performed as a surgical assistant beautifully and flawlessly in recent surgeries.

The trio were still having a “constructive” discussion on the theory of the contrast-enhanced 64-slice CT scan when Zheng Yunxia returned to the office.

After listening for a few moments, she understood the issue at hand.

“Little Chang, Little Su, Chief Zheng, thank you for your kindness.” A languid but determined smile formed on Zheng Yunxia’s face. “I’ve caused you enough trouble already. Since this is the professor’s request, I’ll gladly do it.”

Chang Yue remained silent.

“It should cost me 1680 yuan. I’ve done it before. Don’t worry, I’ll pay the other 1000 yuan later,” Zheng Yunxia said, trying to appease Chang Yue.

“In that case, you would have to undergo the test as soon as possible, but there are lots of patients on the waiting list, so you might have to wait a week,” said Chang Yue, embarrassed.

“Chief Zheng, don’t you have anything to say?” asked Su Yun.

“I don’t know anyone in the CT department.” Zheng Ren felt helpless as well.

“What a poor bachelor, his nose buried only in books. Well, I guess I’ve to do it now. CT room… Overtime… CT room…” Su Yun mumbled. It was unclear if he was searching for a contact number in WeChat or his phone.

“Hello, is this Sister Zhao? I’m Little Su.” A few seconds in and Su Yun had located a number that had been buried for god only knew how long.

“Haha, I live a busy life in the ICU. You also know that I’ve to watch the ventilators every day; I can’t get a good night’s rest either, unlike you guys who have the luxury of getting off work on time and even free medical checkups. That’s a good life.

“Yes, yes, I was in the wrong. I’ll treat you to dinner someday and you can choose any place you like.

“I’m sorry to trouble you, but can you work overtime tonight? Okay, what time shall we visit?

“Alright, sure.”

Zheng Ren daydreamed a cheesy romance as Su Yun chatted and finally hung up.

“It’s settled. We’ll depart at half-past seven in the evening.” The black hair on his forehead danced along with the beautiful smile on his face.