The Surgeon’s Studio

Chapter 591: Self-disfigurement

Although he did not understand what Zheng Ren meant, the physician still followed the doctor’s instructions and went back to the examination room to make a list.

“Hello, I’m the Chief Resident of the emergency department,” Zheng Ren approached the woman who was holding the child and said gently.

The woman tried her best to hold the child and let him do it gently.

Because of her overexertion, traces of sweat could be seen on her forehead and temples.

The woman looked up with her red puffy eyes. There were no tears, but it was filled with deep sadness.

“When did the child become like this?” Zheng Ren asked.

“Do you think I’m abusing the child?” The woman’s voice was a little hoarse. “All the doctors think so! If you can’t identify the problem, just say—”

“Calm down.” Zheng Ren shook his head. “I don’t think these wounds are caused by you abusing the child. It’s a rare illness, so I need some tests and the medical history you’ve provided to confirm it.”

When she heard Zheng Ren say that, her emotions stabilized.

She looked at Zheng Ren carefully and saw that he was wearing white clothes. His body was straight, his face angular, and had black short hair. His bright eyes seemed to be showing… kindness?

A doctor who was clearly under 30 years old actually had the temperament of an experienced chief?

Looking at him, she could feel that he was experienced.

The child’s mother was touched by Zheng Ren’s trust. It was especially so with the temperament he showed, which gave her an inexplicable confidence.

Whether it could be cured or not, the doctor should be able to identify the illness.

“Doctor, the child was biting his fingers after birth. I didn’t pay attention when he was young as I thought he was just like other children,” the child’s mother explained. “But the older he gets, the more serious his finger chewing.”

Zheng Ren nodded. It was about the same as what he had predicted.

“He was a slow learner and only started walking when he was over two years old. However, I didn’t despise him as he was my child after all,” the woman said in pain. “After he learned to walk, he began to stab himself with things, especially his face.”

“We had no choice but to tie his hands, but he still bit his lips, especially when he was eating.”

“We came to Sea City and Provincial Capital for diagnosis. Everyone said that the child was fine. The doctors all thought that it was me and the father who abused the child.”

The medical history was straightforward. Right then, the doctor from the emergency department came out with the emergency medical list.

“Here’s a form for the blood test. Pay the fee and run the test,” Zheng Ren said. “After the test is done, I might be able to give you an accurate diagnosis.”

Although Zheng Ren’s words were still a little vague, it was a doctor’s habit. There was nothing he could do.

Seeing the patient’s mother carrying him away with the father leading the way, paying the money to prepare the test, the emergency physician was disdainful.

“Chief Zheng, you’re abusing the child. I’ve never seen such an outrageous person like them. They’re inhumane. They’re scumbags. They deserve to be put down.”

“No,” Zheng Ren sighed again. “Didn’t you notice that the child’s lips were the most severely injured part?”

The emergency physician recalled that the child’s lips were indeed the most severely injured. With the old and new injuries together, and the lips were deformed.

So what?!

She was still unconvinced and looked at the ground angrily.

“If I’m not mistaken, the child should have Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome.” Zheng Ren’s face looked rather pale.

“What?”

“Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome, also known as Self-disfigurement Syndrome, is a congenital purine metabolic defect inherited from a chain of recessive X-linked genes. It originates from the deficiency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphate ribotransferase (HGPRT),” Zheng Ren explained to the emergency physician.

Upon hearing the words purine… xanthine… guanine… RNA, the emergency physician felt as if she had returned to university, when she was taking biochemistry classes.

Standing before her was not the young Chief Zheng, but a white-haired old scholar.

“The deficiency of this enzyme will prevent hypoxanthine and guanine from being converted into IMP and GMP, which will then degrade pathologically into uric acid. Therefore, the child’s blood uric acid level should be on the high side. When the test results come back later, we’ll be able to make a preliminary diagnosis.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” Zheng Ren nodded. “If we want to do a dual renal ureteral ultrasound, it’s possible to find kidney stones. However, the patient’s family is not wealthy, so we should save as much as we can.”

“Uh… ” the emergency physician concluded.

“The child has low intelligence and has typical compulsive self-destructive behavior. The diagnosis of this disease shouldn’t be a problem.”

Zheng Ren was too convincing.

The emergency physician almost believed him.

“If the diagnosis is clear, then why are you sighing?” The emergency physician asked.

“Diagnosis isn’t the same as treatment,” Zheng Ren said. “This disease is incurable with the current medical means.”

The emergency physician was speechless.

“Most importantly, these cases rarely live past 20 years old.”

Zheng Ren did not want to say that, but that was the fact. It would not change because of his own subjective wishes.

That was something that all doctors were unwilling to face.

It was one thing to understand the illness.

It was another thing to be able to treat the illness.

Regardless, most doctors would hope that the patient could walk out of the hospital healthy.

Incurable diseases, like cancer, were common occurrences for doctors.

This time, however, was a little different.

The emergency physicians still had doubts, but they were already inclined to believe Zheng Ren’s words.

Untreatable…

That outcome was too cruel.

However…

Nobody could do anything about it.

They could only look forward to the advancement of medical technology.

Life was originally a reverse journey.

It would be better to have more time. The child was still so young. It should not turn out that way!

The emergency physician sighed and lowered his head. The indignant expression on his face disappeared. He walked into the internal medicine department with an indifferent expression.

Zheng Ren knew that this was a form of self-preservation for doctors.

If one was too emotional, one would go crazy after working in the hospital for one or two years.

There were too many ups and downs, and things beyond their control.

He walked out of the side door and took out the Purple Cloud from his pocket. He took out the remaining half of the cigarette from last time and lit it up.

The pungent smoke surrounded him and was immediately blown away by the north wind.

It would be great if the System’s diagnosis was wrong.

It would be great if his diagnosis was wrong as well.

Unfortunately, Zheng Ren could instantly find similar cases in his mind. There were at least a dozen of them.

What a pity.

A few minutes later, Zheng Ren finished smoking and walked in.

He did not enter the internal medicine consultation room. Instead, he sat outside on a hard red plastic chair and waited for the results.

It was very cold. The hard plastic chair was also very cold.