The Surgeon’s Studio

Chapter 366: Everything Seemed So Surreal

It was difficult to judge from the imaging if the puncture needle had entered the portal vein branch in the liver.

However, Su Yun had a hunch that Zheng Ren had nailed it in his first attempt by working seamlessly with Professor Rudolf Wagner.

Zheng Ren’s subsequent insertion of the stent graft along the guide wire proved that Su Yun’s speculation was accurate.

Was it successful?

It looked rather strange. If TIPS surgery was this easy, it should not be coined as the crown jewel of interventional surgery.

The stent was in place, opening the vessel, and blood flow was restored.

Su Yun sighed internally. Even though he addressed Zheng Ren as his boss, he had never stopped trying to catch up with him.

Why did it feel like the more he chased after him, the distance between them grew further apart?

If Su Yun had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not believe that Zheng Ren conquered TIPS surgery so effortlessly.

He looked down and checked the time: 15 minutes and 26 seconds.

Su Yun quietly turned his phone off.

Split time? There was no point in noting the time. Why should he give him the chance to boast about this in the future?

Director Zhang stared intensely at the giant LED screen that was showing the ongoing operation and dared not blink.

Nevertheless…he was still at a loss when the TIPS surgery was completed.

When he was young, he studied under Professor Xu Ke at China Medical University.

Director Zhang witnessed first-hand Professor Xu Ke’s research and attempt at TIPS surgery.

TIPS surgery was like nailing jelly to the wall.

Until today, Director Zhang could still remember Professor Xu Ke’s isolation gown under the lead apron, drenched in sweat, and the smile on his face during his first successful surgery.

When he returned to Sea City, he was held back by trepidation whenever he wanted to establish TIPS surgery in the Secondary Hospital due to the difficulty of the method.

Had TIPS surgery evolved into a simple surgery?

Impossible.

Director Zhang rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Everything…

…seemed so surreal.

In the operating room, Zheng Ren and Professor Rudolf Wagner were placing the second removable stent.

The surgery was almost finished, but the elapsed time was less than 30 minutes.

Was this really a TIPS surgery?

Impossible!

“Old Xia… are they performing a TIPS surgery?” Director Zhang asked softly.

“You’re the one involved in interventional surgery. Why are you asking me?” Chief Xia frowned, “Have you lost touch with clinical work? How can you let your operations drop so low!”

Director Zhang seemed unfazed by Chief Xia’s mockery. They were old friends, this was just normal banter.

Moreover, Director Zhang did not think that he neglected his work.

TIPS surgery was his dream. He was determined to have at least one successful case before his retirement

He even took a trip to Shenyang recently to reconnect with his old contacts. If there was a need for TIPS surgery, he could invite one of the professors over to perform it.

Who knew that Sea City General Hospital had been secretly doing TIPS surgery with highly skilled surgeons!

He personally witnessed the young doctor from Sea City General Hospital perform all of the surgeries. Judging from the situation, the professor was not much help.

He must invite Chief Zheng to perform surgery at Secondary Hospital! The thought crossed Director Zhang’s mind when he saw the second stent set in place.

How did he do it? Director Zhang was still perplexed, even though he had been observing the surgery the entire time.

“Chief Xia, I’m done. The surgery went well.” Zheng Ren removed his sterile gloves and entered the operating console room to inform Chief Xia.

“So much faster than the first surgery,” Chief Xia said.

“Yeah, I went back and summed up my past experiences. Also, this surgery is elective, it’s normal to take a shorter time,” Zheng Ren said nonchalantly and turned around to change.

“Lil Fugui, help me transfer the patient afterward,” Zheng Ren told Professor Rudolf on his way to the changing room.

“Sure thing. I have your back, no worries,” the professor answered directly.

Director Zhang was stunned again.

He had stopped speaking in the Northeastern accent that he was once so familiar with.

Hearing a German professor speaking with that accent, he thought he went back in time.

“The surgery’s not too bad, right?” Chief Xia said with a laugh.

Even though Chief Xia did not perform the surgery, she was the one who invited the chief resident of Sea City General Hospital to operate the first TIPS surgery. In her opinion, she totally had bragging rights.

“Yes, more than okay. It was excellent,” Director Zhang shook his head and said, “Old Xia, you discovered a treasure.”

“What do you mean? That’s because I have an eye for talent.” Chief Xia rolled her eyes at Director Zhang.

“Yeah, yeah. You have great eyes.” Suddenly Director Zhang realized something in the middle of talking. He tugged Chief Xia’s lab coat sleeve and hinted with his eyes.

Hmm? Chief Xia was confused. Why did he need to speak to her in private? What was there to say when the surgery was finished?

Even though Chief Xia had questions, she still followed Director Zhang out of the console room.

In the corner of the corridor, Director Zhang looked around to see that there was nobody around before saying softly, “Old Xia, the chief resident’s surgery is really amazing.”

“You don’t say.”

“However, the better he is, the more troubled I am,” Director Zhang said, “How much do I need to pay when I invite Chief Zheng for surgery?”

The situation in the Northeastern region differed from the South. In Sorcery Capital, a small facial suture would cost 3,000 to 5,000 yuan. In the Northeast, they only charged a couple of yuan for the processing fee.

The huge disparity in the fees was the major causing factor of brain drain. Physicians with adequate skills were all set to work in the South.

The surgical fee was so low, he was certain it would cover Zheng Ren’s expenses.

The patient’s family members would have to come up with cash.

Before this, he thought that Zheng Ren was a TIPS surgery amateur that mostly relied on luck.

1,000 to 2,000 yuan should have sufficed.

Now, he knew that he was highly skilled in this surgery with a world’s top professor as his assistant.

He even told the German professor to help him move the patient after surgery.

If Director Zhang was the one who invited the German professor for surgery, he would have worshipped him like a God. No one in their right mind would tell him to move the patient.

The unexpected situation had spiraled out of his control.

He wanted to hear Chief Xia’s opinion on the appropriate amount for Zheng Ren’s payment.

“Payment?” Chief Xia frowned. She had no prior experience on fly-in jobs. Internal medicine rarely invited professors to consult, compared to general surgery.

“Yeah, how much do you think I should pay Chief Zheng?” While speaking, it dawned on Director Zhang that he made another mistake.

“Right, if Chief Zheng’s going to Secondary Hospital to perform surgery, he wouldn’t bring Professor Rudolf Wagner along, would he?”

To have a German professor as an assistant…

God, Director Zhang had never dreamt of something like this.