The Surgeon’s Studio

Chapter 135: Unfair Competition

“How much had he eaten?” asked Chu Yanran, surprised.

“Just a decent amount of food. I heard that the dishes in that restaurant are delicious, and it offers unlimited oysters and American lobsters too.”

“American lobsters are smaller in size. Australian spiny lobsters are much better.”

“They’re almost the same. When my father had driven a car to chase antelopes in Africa last time, we had had seafood there and it tasted so good. The lobsters were quite big too,” Xie Yiren said seriously, “But I still prefer hotpot, especially the hotpot restaurants in Chengdu.”

‘This is love.’ Zheng Ren could see the gleam in Xie Yiren’s eyes.

She would get so excited when talking about food.

Zheng Ren sat quietly nearby and savored the peaceful moment as everyone chatted and laughed during the meal.

It was nice for all of them to enjoy a meal together under the lively atmosphere.

Xie Yiren was slow and attentive in devouring her food. However, not only was adequate sleep a luxury for medical staff working in the emergency department, but it was also difficult for them to leisurely enjoy their food.

An emergency case arrived before she could finish her food.

A patient constantly pressing on his stomach was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and was sent to the ward.

Zheng Ren made a signal for them to slowly enjoy their meal before heading out to examine the patient and confirm his diagnosis.

Chang Yue wiped her mouth with a piece of tissue paper, put on her white coat, took a notepad out of her pocket and went along with Zheng Ren.

Su Yun quietly trailed behind Chang Yue with his head lowered.

Before Zheng Ren could examine the patient, another patient in a wheelchair was pushed into the ward.

Generally, if the doctors on duty encountered difficulties in the consultation rooms, Zheng Ren would have to go down and personally diagnose the cases. However, if the diagnosis was definitive, the patients would be directly transferred to the ward.

These two patients suffered from acute uncomplicated appendicitis and required surgery.

Coincidentally, both of them had been fasting after a simple breakfast in the morning due to abdominal pain.

The patients would undergo surgery soon as they had fasted long enough.

Both patients’ family members quickly went to settle the admission process.

Perhaps none of them would be in such a hurry if there was only one patient awaiting surgery, but when two acute abdomen cases arrived simultaneously, the sequence as to who would undergo the surgery first would be a big deal for the patients and family members.

Needless to say, everyone wanted to undergo surgery first, especially the latter patient who had arrived a minute too late as he would waste time waiting for the elevator.

If the patient was placed second on the list because of this, he would have to endure the agonizing pain for at least an hour.

Anxious, both patients’ family members quickly completed the hospital admission process, trying to outcompete each other.

They paid no attention to Chang Yue’s preoperative counseling and signed the preoperative informed consent documents without the slightest hesitation.

A few family members even attempted to give a red packet to Zheng Ren in an empty room, but he smiled and rejected the kind offer.

What a joke. He did not even dare to accept a red packet gifted for a successful surgery with minimal risks, let alone a red packet given preoperatively.

This was a tricky issue as both patients’ family members were glaring fiercely at each other and hoping that they could undergo the surgery first.

Smoldering fires of fury could be vaguely detected in their conversation in this instant.

“Let’s go together.” Zheng Ren made the final decision.

Su Yun and Yang Lei would operate on a patient and he would handle the other case. He had witnessed Su Yun’s skills and knew that his standard had definitely reached the level of a lead professor. Moreover, with the help of Yang Lei, a senior general surgeon, the surgery should end well.

If Zheng Ren was fast enough to complete his surgery sooner, he could assist them if any problems arose.

The decision had been made. The multiple-choice question needed not to be answered anymore.

Adults never do multiple-choice questions anyway. They basically wanted everything.

The Chu sisters and Xie Yiren had gone to the operating theater for surgery preparations. Fortunately, there were adequate staff during the day, so the nurses would not complain when two surgeries were carried out simultaneously.

Su Yun’s eyes shone brightly in excitement when he heard Zheng Ren’s decision.

In terms of physical attractiveness, Su Yun figured that he was unrivaled in the whole world, the same went for surgery as well.

He would surely be the best general surgeon when given time for practice.

Unsurpassable in the same category.

Su Yun, who had assisted Zheng Ren in past surgeries, was aware of his surgical standards and firmly believed that he would reach the same height in the future.

Since he was given a chance now, he might as well give it a try.

Despite his apathy in becoming a doctor, he had always been naturally competitive. His enthusiasm would decrease only when he confirmed that he was in a class of his own.

Otherwise, he would not have insisted on the transfer to the emergency department.

Zheng Ren and Su Yun wheeled the patients into the operating theater after preoperative preparations—preoperative skin preparation and intravenous cannulation—were complete.

The Chu sisters went on separate ways to anesthetize the patients. As usual, Xie Yiren would assist Zheng Ren in surgery, and another scrub nurse was assigned to Su Yun and Yang Lei.

Zheng Ren chose to operate on the older patient with a relatively higher surgical difficulty.

Geriatrics usually had thicker, calcified iliolumbar ligaments, so it would take a longer time for continuous epidural anesthesia to take effect.

After performing a surgical scrub, Su Yun passed by Zheng Ren’s operating theater and instantly became downhearted upon noticing that the anesthesia was still ongoing.

Even if he won, this was still an unfair competition.

Yang Lei took the initiative to scrub up first before he began to disinfect and drape the surgical site.

He had performed the same procedures numerous times in the first general surgery department. After all, the most a junior doctor could do in surgery was to assist the chief surgeon by disinfecting the surgical site or pulling the retractor.

How much he could learn from it depended solely on his own understanding.

That was why he particularly admired Zheng Ren, a man who could soar into the sky once an opportunity was presented, which was a rarity in today’s world.

As for Su Yun… Yang Lei had heard through the grapevine that he was skilled in performing surgery, but for some unknown reason, he had gone to work in ICU instead of the general surgery department when he had first arrived in Sea City General Hospital.

After Yang Lei applied the last surgical drape on the surgical site, Su Yun directly stood at the chief surgeon’s position and began disinfecting the site for the last time.

Yang Lei was unconcerned about his current role. After all, this was merely an appendectomy, a surgery that he had done numerous times and was fed up with.

Even so, he still acted cautiously and meticulously in his first surgery with Su Yun.

Since Zheng Ren let them work together, he had to check every detail and make sure the surgery was uneventful.

Soon, he appreciated Su Yun’s surgical skills.

The skin was incised just until the capillary network above the subcutaneous layer in one go. That was amazing!

Nothing more, nothing less. The end result was just perfect.

He then bluntly dissected the tissue without using electrocauterization for hemostasis.

Damn, this guy was good!

Yang Lei admitted that he had limited talent, but instead of being consumed with jealousy, he would only feel envious of those born with great talents.

Blunt dissection was completed, the peritoneal cavity was exposed… Yang Lei soon found out that he had to be very alert to perfectly perform his tasks as a first surgical assistant.

Su Yun’s maneuver was simply too fast and accurate, and he could not afford to get distracted even for a split second.

After ensuring that the peritoneum was well-protected and the appendix was fully exposed, the appendicular artery was then separated, clamped and transected. Everything was done according to the standard in surgery textbooks.

The inflamed appendix was removed and thrown into a specimen container.

Before the surgery had begun, Yang Lei, a general surgeon, had nursed some grievances about Su Yun’s role as a chief surgeon.

However, the truth revealed that Su Yun was indeed very good at performing surgery.

Yang Lei was dazed and confused. Were geniuses really that powerful and could steamroll every opponent with ease?

Following the peritoneal cavity irrigation with warm normal saline, Yang Lei immediately aspirated the contents using an aspirator with a suction tube attached.

Su Yun began closing the peritoneal cavity after ensuring the absence of active bleeding spots.

“That was fast. There isn’t any active bleeding, right?” A voice came from behind Su Yun.

Yang Lei raised his head and saw Zheng Ren.

“Yes. There aren’t any, I’ve checked. Blood loss is minimal… with a visual estimation of 3mL,” answered Yang Lei.

“Good.” Zheng Ren praised.

“Your anesthesiologist is rather slow,” Yang Lei leisurely chatted with Zheng Ren while pulling the retractor for better exposure of the surgical field.

That was how it was in the operating theater. Major accidents could happen if none of them mutter a single word.

“Huh? Chu Yanran was quick in administering anesthesia, and I’ve already completed my surgery.”

Already…

Completed…

Yang Lei was unsure if he was having an illusion, but Su Yun seemingly stunned for a very brief moment.