The Surgeon’s Studio

[I just arrived. Can anyone explain to me why the surgeon is performing a low-class surgery like an appendectomy in a live broadcast?]

[Low-class? It’s an art if you can finish an appendectomy within three minutes. Do you even know what’s art?]

[Agreed. I’ve watched this broadcast the whole night and I’m going to apply for leave today just to see how many appendectomies this surgeon can do consecutively.]

Zheng Ren was currently performing a simple appendectomy. No matter how skillful or superb his surgical technique was, it was quite tiresome and dull especially when the viewers had been observing the same procedure over and over again.

The main reason why the doctors continued to watch the livestream was to know exactly how many appendectomies this surgeon could perform consecutively before he burned out. Apart from that, some newcomers who complimented the surgeon for his proficiency and were ridiculed in return caught some of the viewers’ interest as well.

This was definitely a world record and no competitor would come close to that result.

[Was this surgery performed by a human? How could he finish it so quickly?]

[The incisions weren’t made on the standard McBurney’s point, but every surgical wound was made closest to the inflamed appendix. Is there any new investigation method that allows the surgeon to pinpoint the exact location of an appendix?]

[Young man, don’t be naive. The surgeon has been performing surgery continuously and every patient was examined preoperatively in the operating theater. I’m certain that there isn’t any new appendix detection method and it was his profound clinical experience that gave him such a precise judgment in every appendectomy.]

After an appendectomy was completed, another case would be wheeled in.

Every doctor watching the livestream had the inkling that the surgeon was going to perform surgeries until the end of time.

When the mountains became plains, and when the heavens and earth came together as one united piece, only then would the surgery cease.

After a patient was transferred out of the operating theater upon completion of their surgery at a quarter past nine, the operating table remained empty for some time.

Was he done?

Every doctor in the livestream was lost in thought.

Ten minutes later, they finally confirmed that the demon who had performed appendectomies ceaselessly had treated all available acute appendicitis cases in the city and the surrounding counties.

[Finally… I’ve been watching for fifteen hours straight.]

[How many did he perform?]

[Forty-nine in total. 666!]

Forty-nine appendectomies within twenty-four hours. Anyone who saw this figure would definitely be agape. If they had been the ones performing the surgeries in their own hospitals, that timeframe would probably not have been enough to anesthetize all the patients to begin with.

Every doctor who watched the livestream felt dispirited and disheartened after analyzing the situation from a different perspective. The surgeon’s standard, his technical skills, his scrub nurses, his anesthesiologists…

Zheng Ren had finally become a trophy child and received tons of admiration from others.

…

…

Zheng Ren finally left the operating theater after the last appendectomy was complete.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he had decided not to call Xie Yiren, who must be in a deep sleep. Despite his insensitive and heartless attitude, there was actually some emotional intelligence left in his heart.

He searched through the contacts in his cell phone and called Old Chief Physician Pan.

“Chief Physician Pan, it’s me.

“Okay, I’ll come down immediately.”

After the brief conversation, Zheng Ren changed into normal attire quickly without taking a shower and rushed toward the surgical demonstration classroom in the general surgery department.

The elevator reached the floor of the general surgery department, and as soon as the gates slid open, Zheng Ren was shocked.

A strong miasma assailed his nostrils.

It was a familiar cacophony of smells—bromodosis, disinfectants, flatulence under the blanket for the whole night, food, and the stench from the toilets—which was also known as the smell of life.

Nowadays, the National Health and Family Planning Commission disallowed the addition of extra hospital beds in Class Three Grade A Hospitals, so it had been almost two years since Zheng Ren last experienced this familiar scent.

He then realized that the hospital was congested with patients due to the dozens of appendectomies he had performed in one night.

Instead of feeling disgust at this malodor, which smelled just like home to Zheng Ren’s, his heart was at ease as if he had returned to when he first arrived at Sea City General Hospital.

Zheng Ren knocked on the door upon reaching the surgical demonstration classroom.

There was deafening arguing coming from inside it and no one answered the door.

Thus, Zheng Ren simply opened the door and went inside. The chief of the medical administration division was sitting in front of the projector screen, and opposite him sat Chief Surgeon Liu from the first general surgery department, Chief Surgeon Sun from the second general surgery department, deputy chief surgeons, and chief residents.

On the other hand, Chief Physician Old Pan was leisurely sitting next to the window and tapping the worn cover of Limited Views with his finger lightly, obviously in jubilation.

“Chief Surgeon Liu, you’re one of the backbones of our hospital management. How could you do this? Couldn’t you see the big picture in this matter?” the chief of the medical administration division berated harsly.

Chief Surgeon Liu’s lips parted, but a comeback failed to leave his mouth, nor did he shamelessly stand up and apologize for his mistake.

The chief of the medical administration division said, “Matron Li barged in while the hospital’s upper management was having a meeting this morning. You’re aware of Matron Li’s attitude as well, and most importantly, whatever she said was reasonable. What you did…”

“After the emergency board meeting, we’ve decided to let the emergency department handle every acute appendicitis case from now on. This matter ends here,” the chief of the medical administration division concluded.

“I would like that too, but where is my manpower?” asked Old Chief Physician Pan calmly.

The chief surgeons of the general surgery department were no longer his concern as they had failed miserably, especially when there were forty-nine videos to slap the taste out of their mouths if either of them exploded with rage.

Who could endure a forty-nine hit combo?

“Old Chief Physician Pan, don’t worry.” The issue gave the chief of the medical administration division a headache. Increasing medical disputes had caused numerous healthcare disturbances to become a norm in the modern medical world. Nowadays, every hospital in the country suffered from a lack of medical personnel, especially the emergency and pediatrics departments.

In fact, every other department had staff shortages to a certain degree as well.

Old Chief Physician Pan was an experienced senior doctor, and if he decided to cause trouble when provoked… The chief of the medical administration division preferred not to experience that sort of calamity.

Elderly men needed to be respected and coaxed, which was exactly why the chief of the medical administration division ignored the culprit behind this chaotic mess when he entered the room just now. If the target had been someone else, the chief would have definitely come down on him like a ton of bricks no matter if they were in the right or wrong.

“Chief, I’ve a complaint.” Chief Surgeon Liu stood up and gestured to Cen Meng, who acknowledged it and walked toward the computer brazenly to search for something.

“Keep the complaint to yourself. This is the will of the hospital’s upper management team.” The chief of the medical administration division was stern in his answer and disallowed any room for discussion.

Chief Surgeon Liu, who had expected this sort of response, ignored the chief of the medical administration division and spoke to Old Chief Physician Pan, “Zheng Ren once mentioned that he could make the surgery woundless if he was treating a simple case of acute appendicitis.”

Cen Meng found the conversation between Zheng Ren and Xie Yiren during the surgery and played it on the projector screen.

“Yes. I can make it woundless if it’s just a simple appendicitis case.” Zheng Ren’s words reached everyone’s ears.

“I’ll resign if he can do it.” Chief Surgeon Liu grasped at the only mistake Zheng Ren had made like a dog stubbornly biting onto a feces-stained wooden stick.

He even used his resignation as a bargaining chip in order to retain whatever dignity he had left.

“Are you taking a joke made in the operating theater seriously?” Old Chief Physician Pan smiled and added, “How did you perform surgeries all these years? I’m doubting you.”

“Chief Surgeon Liu, I think Zheng Ren was merely joking too, so can you please stop acting unreasonably?”

“Unreasonably?” Chief Surgeon Liu remained recalcitrant despite his overwhelming defeat and said, “I admit that he did a very good job in his surgeries, but not better… better than me.”

Chief Surgeon Liu was unwilling to admit his appendectomy skill was comparable to Zheng Ren’s even in his final struggle. He was not alone here and everyone was aware of his standards. They would definitely slander him if he boasted confidently without knowing his limitations.

“Well, I took whatever he said very seriously. If he can perform a woundless appendectomy, I’ll resign immediately and won’t care which department will take over all appendicitis cases in the future.”

“Despicable man,” Old Chief Physician Pan mocked.

“Chief Surgeon Liu, it’s unwise to act on your impulses without any considerations,” the chief of the medical administration division said earnestly, trying to persuade Chief Surgeon Liu not to make matters worse. If Old Chief Physician Pan, who had proved his mettle in those surgeries, coerced him into allocating essential medical personnel to the emergency department within two days… many staff in the medical administration division might commit suicide.

“Chief Surgeon Liu, a resignation isn’t necessary, but you’ve got to promise that the general surgery department won’t handle any acute appendicitis case in the future. Listen very carefully: not just the first general surgery department, but the whole general surgery department,” Zheng Ren retaliated, looking askew at Chief Surgeon Liu.

F*ck! They were crazy! All of them were out of their god damned minds!

A woundless appendectomy? Who had heard of it previously?! Was Zheng Ren getting dazed after performing so many surgeries? How could he accept the challenge just like that?