Surgery Godfather-Chapter 385 - 0364: The Dying Mentor
Chapter 385 -0364: The Dying Mentor
The female student with spinal scoliosis was wheeled out of the operating room, followed by a patient with a lumbar 3 vertebral burst fracture.
This patient had a lumbar 3 vertebral burst fracture, but his posterior longitudinal ligament was intact. Imaging also showed no signs of cortical flipping of the fracture fragments, making him a good candidate for posterior spine surgery.
Posterior spine surgery is relatively simpler, less bloody, and lower risk than anterior spine surgery. If the issue can be resolved from the posterior, the anterior approach is generally avoided.
Anterior spine surgery, which involves accessing the area through the chest or abdomen, entails greater difficulty due to the involvement of thoracoabdominal organs, large blood vessels, etc.
However, if satisfactory results can’t be achieved with posterior surgery, the anterior approach would be preferred despite its greater complexity.
There’s no superior or inferior method between the two surgeries. It depends on the specific case.
It’s like asking whether a sedan or a truck is better. For family use, a sedan is undoubtedly a better choice, but for hauling, a truck does a better job.
With Yang Ping present, Director Han and Professor Zhang didn’t need to stay in the operating room. They chatted in the changing room.
The independent operating room of the orthopedics department was devoid of personnel from other departments. The young ones were all busy operating, leaving only Old Zhang and Old Han in the changing room.
Old Han and Old Zhang were usually occupied with their respective duties. Old Zhang was in charge of the orthopedic outpatient clinic, and Old Han had a lot to handle at the orthopedic research institute. Thus, it was quite rare for them to gather together like this.
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“This was his first time performing scoliosis correction surgery.” Old Han exclaimed.
“The screws were beautifully placed, whether in terms of osteotomy or correction, he’s already mastered the skill,” Professor Zhang was still savouring the operation.
“Such an extraordinary talent almost slipped through my fingers,” Old Han recalled his first encounter with Yang Ping.
“We must treasure this seedling and create the best platform for him. In medicine, there’s hardly anything we can teach him except for the things that come with experience,” Professor Zhang advised Director Han.
“Right now, my main focus is building a platform for his team and providing them with the best services.” Old Han promised to put Professor Zhang at ease.
“Did Old Feng get sent to the ICU again?” After a pause, Professor Zhang changed the topic.
Old Feng, Professor Feng Tiancheng, is the mentor of Director Han and Hong Zhigang. He’s several years younger than Professor Zhang Zongshun but still from the same generation.
Academically, Professor Zhang Zongshun is Feng Tiancheng’s older schoolmate, thus making Zhang the equivalent of a grandmentor to Director Han.
“I’ve visited him. I saw him through the glass. It’s a spinal tumor in the upper cervical cord that has extended into the medulla oblongata through the skull base. The orthopedics and neurosurgery teams from Mo Sixth have revised the surgical plan several times, but it’s still not feasible. The tumor’s placement deep within the center of the upper cervical cord and medulla oblongata implies that our teacher wouldn’t last much longer,” Old Han sighed heavily, with his eyes moistening.
The mentor has remained unmarried throughout his life, devoted to the pursuit of medical arts. Holding his own reputation as dear as his life, he sees his senior schoolmate and himself as his own sons. Thinking back about the times of his younger years as a student, he couldn’t help but well up.
“Last year, he could still walk. He asked me to help him apply for body donation to the Jiaotong University Medical College Anatomy teaching and research department. He hoped that his body could still be of use after his death, serving as a cadaver for teaching, and thus making his last contribution to medicine.” Professor Zhang was also emotional.
“Many qualities, like purity and nobility, that your generation holds are something we must learn to uphold,” Old Han admired the previous generation’s spirit.
“It’s nothing lofty. My father passed away in the clinic’s chair, and I hope when my time comes, I will also be sitting in the clinic’s chair. Perhaps it’s the best way to go. My father’s body was donated to Xiehe Hospital. We’re materialists; I don’t believe in life after death. If after death, my body can serve as a specimen with which medical students can practice their incisions, that would be a good thing. I remember my father’s words, ‘I’d rather have the medical students make a thousand cuts on my body than make one wrong cut on a patient.'” Professor Zhang squinted his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
After a prolonged silence, Old Han said, “I heard from people at Mo Sixth that the mentor once strongly demanded for the surgery himself.”
“He wants to serve as a test subject to accumulate experience for Mo Sixth. This kind of operation is currently a forbidden area in surgery, with few successful global precedents. The success rate of the operation is less than one percent. If he doesn’t undergo surgery, he can still hold on for a while. Once he does, he might die right on the operating table. How would Mo Sixth dare to perform the operation?” Professor Zhang had also been closely following Professor Feng’s condition.
“Old Han, I won’t ask you again about what happened that year. It’s been over a decade. I know that you wouldn’t commit such an act as you were accused of, given what I know about you. Do you intend to let Feng Tiancheng die with this misunderstanding?” Professor Zhang turned to look at Old Han, his gaze as sharp as can be.
Old Han deliberately looked away and focused on the cabinet in front of him, “This is the best outcome.”
“I’d just like to remind you, I estimate that Old Feng can’t hold out for more than six months. He will soon become a postmortem anatomy teacher. Take some time to think about it!” Professor Zhang got up to stretch his back and walked into the restroom with a hobbling step.
Director Han was left alone, leaning on the back of his chair to rest.
Song Zimo’s operation had already begun. It was the fifth round of surgery, a posterior operation for the thoracolumbar vertebral fracture. The focus was on the pedicle screw technique.
This was a basic operation in spine surgery – not a difficult task for Song Zimo.
He would perform even better than in the pelvic acetabular fracture surgery.
Yang Ping had developed a novel pedicle screw placement technique and taught it to Song Zimo. By using this method, the optimal entry point could easily be identified and a screw could be placed following the most favorable trajectory.
Nandu Affiliated Hospital One had already finished their fifth round of surgery. At this time, they were observing the surgeries performed by outstanding participants from different regional divisions around the country.
Lin Hao felt conflicted. He had thought that by the fourth-round surgery – pelvic acetabular fracture, they would have outpaced Sanbo Hospital.
But now, going into the fifth round of surgery, he saw no hope. While he hoped for Sanbo to advance, he definitely didn’t want them to advance with full marks, as it wouldn’t highlight the gap.
Incision, approach, probing, implantation of positioning needles. How could he move so quickly? Regardless of whether it was the thoracic or lumbar spine, there were several methods for pedicle screw placement, and Lin Hao simply couldn’t tell which one Song Zimo was using.
All he could see was where Song Zimo made the incision. A pointed bone-biting clamp at the point of insertion, biting off a tiny bit of the bone cortex, then making an incision, followed by an approach, probing, and implantation of the positioning needles, done entirely without pressure.
After all the positioning needles had been implanted, the fluoroscopic images soon appeared on the screen, each needle placed perfectly.
“Is this the human spine method?” Lin Hao asked Su Nanchen.
Su Nanchen shook his head: “Unlikely, I also don’t know what this positioning method is. I’ve never seen it before.”
Chen Ge, Cao Qian, and Su Fengyu, who were sitting at the side, were all staring at Song Zimo, hoping he’d make a mistake, which would allow them to advance into the top three.
Unfortunately, he didn’t make any mistakes. Given how familiar he was with this surgery, it was impossible for it to fail.
Su Nanchen knew very well that a lot of Song Zimo’s techniques came from Yang Ping. He didn’t show himself, simply wanting the competition in the southern region to look better and the performance of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nandu to look good.
If he did appear, surgery wasn’t like other sports competitions, where there was room to hold back. A surgical case can be done perfectly. To deliberately do it poorly or offer a discount would be to blaspheme against medical principles.
Since he cannot hold back, he must go all out for each operation, then, the entire southern competition area would be very embarrassed.
The Golden Knife Award would witness a scene full of sarcasm – Nandu’s First Affiliated Hospital, dubbed the top hospital in the southern region, with its powerful team, was beaten by Yang Ping alone.
“He really is putting in a lot of thought!” Su Nanchen thought, laughing to himself; he hadn’t expected Yang Ping to even consider this aspect.
“Hao Bro, it looks like this guy will push Sanbo to the national competition with full marks.” Chen Ge said helplessly.
“Still an assistant performing the surgery, consistently achieving full marks. Doesn’t anyone think Sanbo could be the dark horse of this competition?”
“There have never been any dark horses in previous competitions, and that’s the same this time.”
“That’s right, there were so-called dark horses that rushed into the national competition in the past, and they were all eliminated in the first round.”
“To reiterate again, regional matches involve basic operations. The real deal will be in the national competition. Just look for starters at the arthroscopic surgeries of six major joints in the national competition. What about cuff repair and ACL reconstruction? They’re not even exciting. This year, they’ve added multi-ligament reconstruction of the shoulder and knee as the starting surgery. How many hospitals nationwide can perform the multi-ligament reconstruction of the shoulder and knee? Many hospitals still can’t understand a single anterior cruciate reconstruction, let alone perform multi-ligament reconstruction?”
“Luo Jin! Please. How hard is it for you guys to move a finger? Luo Jin’s surgery is Yang Ping’s masterpiece. He’s already started regular training and is rumored to be returning to the game soon.”
“How hard is it to think? Don’t listen to their propaganda. Who saw it? Was it knee multi-ligament reconstruction? Isn’t what they say what it is? Try thinking with your toes. With such a surgery, with Luo Jin’s fame, shouldn’t he have gone overseas or at least to the Three Empires or Demon Sixth if not overseas? And think again – if it really was a four-way reconstruction, who’s that awesome to have a footballer with a four-way reconstruction return to the field? You guys search for Little Robert’s articles, he even coined a term – retirement syndrome! Guys! Anyone involved in sports medicine shouldn’t say they don’t know Little Robert, shouldn’t say they don’t know the New York Special Orthopedic Hospital. If they can’t do it, Sanbo can. It really is an era of omnipresent genius doctors, they dare to brag about everything. They shouldn’t dream that an amateur chess player can defeat Nie Weiping.”
Who knew who it was that posted such a lengthy discussion that made one’s eyes blur, yet its game was coherent.
“Actually, Sanbo isn’t weak at all, Professor Han Jiangong is from Demon Sixth and was a standout figure back in his day.”
“I heard that another retired professor from Demon Sixth, Zhang Zongshun, who is a leading figure in the domestic orthopedics field, is currently at Sanbo as well?”
“No wonder Sanbo is so strong!”
“Is the story about Han Jiangong true? Anyone who knows the inside stories want to share?”
“Everyone please note, we are only discussing technical matters here, please refrain from discussing personal privacy.”
The one initiating the topic knew how to take a hint and didn’t continue, allowing the topic to cool down.
“Everyone, don’t overrate Sanbo, what the guy said earlier is right.”
Looking at these comments, Su Nanchen merely smiled faintly.
When Tesla first proposed the concept of alternating current, the whole world shared similar views: How could it be possible?
No surprise there, anything beyond comprehension gets naturally rejected.
