Chapter 1212 - 1212: 779 Obsolete technology eliminated by time

Everyone was quietly staring at Director Su, waiting for him to make a decision.

Du Heng was also waiting for Director Su to make up his mind.

He had already said what needed to be said, and he had already stepped forward when needed. However, this was ultimately the Obstetrics Department, not the Traditional Chinese Medicine Internal Medicine Department, so it wasn't up to him to decide.

Suddenly, the delivery room became quiet. The BEEP sound of the equipment and the constant moans of the woman in labor seemed especially harsh, and time itself felt as if it had frozen.

Luckily, Director Su didn't make everyone wait long. After they had taken a few breaths, Director Su made up his mind. "Director Du, are you sure you can do it?"

Du Heng didn't speak, but firmly nodded.

"Fine," Director Su agreed forcefully. "Then I'll have to trouble you with this, Director Du."

After saying this, he immediately turned to the female doctor from before. "Your task remains the same. Go explain the situation to the patient's family members and issue the Critical Illness Notification."

The female doctor didn't hesitate and turned to leave.

When the female doctor left, everyone's eyes in the delivery room focused on Du Heng, waiting for his next move.

At this moment, their expressions held both admiration and curiosity.

They admired Du Heng, an outsider, for bravely stepping forward at such a critical time. Simultaneously, they wanted to observe, and perhaps even learn, the 'internal cephalic version' technique, long considered obsolete and replaced by new technologies.

Du Heng breathed slowly to calm his emotions. Then, he began to disinfect his hands, put on a surgical gown, and gloves. Afterward, he slowly approached the delivery bed.

"Is the anesthesia ready?" Du Heng asked after steadying himself and slowly exhaling again.

The anesthetist, who was already waiting, checked the patient's condition and the monitor readings again before replying, "You can start. The available time is twenty minutes."

This time, Du Heng didn't speak but gently nodded and began to apply lubricant to his hands.

"First step, we must find the fetus feet. Once found, grasp both feet between the index, middle, and ring fingers."

In the short interval Du Heng was speaking, less than a minute, he had already located the fetus's feet. He withdrew one free hand and placed it on the patient's abdomen.

At this point, Wu Shengnan's attending doctor asked, "Director Du, the fetus is in the abdomen, and we currently can't use B-ultrasound or other auxiliary methods. How can we confirm whether we've grasped the fetus's hands or feet?"

"Feel for the soles and heels."

Hmm? Ah! It was that simple.

But they wouldn't have known without Du Heng's explanation, which made them feel foolish.

A fetus in the womb usually has its fists clenched, making it very difficult to distinguish fingers by feel. However, identifying by feeling for both the sole and the heel together makes it much easier.

At this point, Du Heng's external hand began to gently massage the patient's abdomen, while his internal hand slowly pulled downward. His movements were extremely slow and gentle.

Director Su frowned slightly. "Director Du, is it also necessary to use the external cephalic version?"

External cephalic version? The others looked somewhat dazed. Is that what it is? Just pushing in one direction with one hand on the outside of the abdomen? Is that called external cephalic version? But didn't he just say he was going to perform the internal cephalic version? We haven't seen any internal turning yet. A wave of uncertainty surfaced in everyone's minds.

However, Du Heng couldn't spare them any attention. He was fully focused on sensing the fetus's condition through his hands, daring not to make the slightest misstep with either hand.

Only after hearing Director Su's question did he quietly say, "It must be combined with the external cephalic version. This provides an auxiliary force to the fetus, helping to change its position from transverse to breech. If we rely solely on the force from pulling the fetus feet, it's not easy to turn the fetus. Moreover, too much force could break the fetus feet."

After saying this, Du Heng stopped talking, his brows tightly furrowed.

The patient was too fat.

Although the amniotic fluid had broken and her belly had slightly dropped, the thick layer of fat on her stomach completely hindered Du Heng's application of the external cephalic version.

If he used too little force, the fat layer on her stomach wouldn't budge. If he used too much force, it could be transmitted to the fetus inside and cause harm.

By this point, the others had also noticed Du Heng's troubled expression. They all held their breath and watched his movements intently, no longer asking questions.

Director Su was also nervous. He wanted to assist, but right now, he could only worry helplessly, unsure how he could help.

After Director Su hesitated for quite a while, still unable to find a way to assist, he suddenly saw Du Heng's entire body relax.

"Alright, now we can use the breech traction technique," Du Heng, visibly more relaxed now, announced.

Breech traction technique? Before the others had time to ponder it, Du Heng had already called two people over to assist him. He began demonstrating the technique while explaining the necessary precautions.

This time, without anyone needing to ask, he explained everything in detail.

Three minutes later, the loud cry of a baby suddenly rang out in the delivery room.

Everyone looked at the purplish baby, whose cries were loud and strong, and they all burst into applause.

Du Heng nodded modestly and then began to change his bloodstained surgical gown and gloves.

Then, Dr. Zhang suddenly asked, "Director Du, since you were already performing an internal cephalic version, why not turn the baby directly to the head downward position? Converting to a breech presentation, which then requires the breech traction technique—doesn't that carry a somewhat higher degree of difficulty and risk?"