A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 517

101. According to Plan (3)

The door to operating room number 2 opened.

*Whoosh!*

White disinfectant smoke poured down from the ceiling like a waterfall. In a sterile environment, Jun-hoo stepped into the operating room.

He raised his head to look up at the observation room on the second floor.

The audience was quite impressive.

The vice president, the hospital director, and the director of medical affairs.

The trio holding the hospital’s power were sitting there, firmly entrenched.

The difference in power was blatantly revealed in their gazes.

They were looking down on Jun-hoo, and Jun-hoo was looking up at them.

The one looking down was the evaluator.

The one looking up was being evaluated.

But how long would this relationship last?

Aside from the vice president, who belonged to the foundation, Jun-hoo could sufficiently surpass the other two.

Jun-hoo’s ambition was burning hot.

It was hidden like the claws of a beast.

“You’re here, Chief.”

“You’re here, Chief?”

As Jun-hoo approached the operating table, the staff greeted him in unison. Jun-hoo waved his hand in response.

A frail old patient in their seventies was lying on the operating table.

The anesthesia was complete.

The patient’s diagnosis was drug-resistant epilepsy.

They had been taking medication for a year in the neurology department, but there was no improvement in their condition. They often foamed at the mouth and had seizures.

Their thoughts and emotions were erratic, and they didn’t seem like the father they knew.

Jun-hoo remembered the guardians who came to the outpatient clinic, tearfully pleading.

*This is right.*

*Even if I had to push it through with my own money, I had to set up a proper system.*

*Patients are so desperate.*

Jun-hoo stared at the patient and muttered inwardly.

As with most surgical procedures.

The same was true for epilepsy surgery.

The elderly patient was slow to recover, making it difficult for them to undergo surgery.

If this patient had undergone typical craniotomy [surgical removal of part of the skull] for epilepsy surgery, it could have been life-threatening.

Cutting open the skull and accessing the brain is a significant burden for the patient.

Thanks to the minimally invasive robotic surgery, the patient could attempt surgery relatively safely.

In fact, young and old patients accounted for most of the epilepsy clinic.

It was unfortunate that the surgery was expensive because it was not covered by insurance.

But still, having the opportunity for surgery was worlds apart from not having it.

If the patient’s family circumstances were too dire, Jun-hoo could personally provide support.

The operating lights seemed particularly dazzling today.

The patient’s face looked as white as wax.

Instead of a microscope, a surgical robot dedicated to epilepsy, ‘Cerebral,’ was hanging from the ceiling above the operating table.

The eight legs and structures looked like spider legs.

*Beep, beep, beep.*

The patient monitoring device emitted cold, mechanical sounds regularly.

Vitals were normal.

Oxygen saturation was also normal.

The electrocardiogram rhythm was peaceful.

“Hoo. The chief is the one operating, but I’m nervous for some reason.”

Second-year resident Woo-hyun placed his hand on his chest.

“Are you still worried about me?”

Jun-hoo’s eyes curved into a smiling crescent shape.

“Well, this is the biggest project since the professor took office. And there are people over there glaring daggers.”

Woo-hyun pointed to the observation room with a gesture.

In fact, not only Woo-hyun but also the other staff members had tense expressions.

There was no change in expression.

Some were chattering their teeth or shaking their legs.

The observers were the power elite.

And it was everyone’s first time assisting in robotic surgery in a real-world setting.

This was problematic.

Tension leads to mistakes, and mistakes can lead to serious medical accidents.

“Everyone, focus on me.”

At Jun-hoo’s quiet voice, the staff’s eyes turned to Jun-hoo in unison.

Jun-hoo also drew up his internal energy and put it in his eyes.

The black pupils momentarily took on the blue color of a lake.

*Jungan* [正眼, a type of eye technique], a type of eye technique, was unfolding. The internal energy radiating from his eyes contained Jun-hoo’s sincerity.

“Robotic surgery is easier and faster than regular surgery. There’s no need for you to be nervous.”

“…….”

“I guarantee you’ll be clamoring to assist in robotic surgery rather than regular surgery in the future.”

“…….”

“Trust me.”

He amplified his sincere thoughts with internal energy and conveyed them.

The staff’s faces, which had been as hard as stone, bloomed like flowers.

Some let out a sigh of relief.

Jun-hoo felt the softened atmosphere with his skin.

He didn’t use it often.

But *Jungan* was also a type of fraudulent martial art.

Managing the staff’s mentality was no easy task, but he succeeded in just a few seconds.

“Chief, is robotic surgery really that simple?”

“Have you ever seen me lie?”

“You do lie sometimes.”

“Me?”

“You say the surgery will take 3 hours and then finish it in 2 hours.”

Woo-hyun made a joke.

The staff laughed.

The tense atmosphere completely melted away.

“Shall I put on the microphone for you?”

“Good.”

As Jun-hoo stood quietly in place, Woo-hyun placed a headset microphone on Jun-hoo’s head.

Since it was a historic first robotic surgery.

He decided to explain the surgical process directly to the three observers.

*Click!*

Jun-hoo immediately put on the microphone.

He gestured to the staff to prepare for surgery.

The staff took their positions in an orderly manner.

“From now on, I will perform radiofrequency ablation [procedure using heat to destroy tissue] and stereoelectroencephalography [technique to measure electrical activity in the brain] electrode insertion robotic surgery for drug-resistant epilepsy.”

After speaking, Jun-hoo turned his back to the operating table. He sat down at the robotic control panel 3 meters away from the operating table.

Perhaps because it was his first time operating it in a while.

He felt like he had become the pilot of a robot cartoon he had watched as a child.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Jun-hoo tilted his head left and right and placed both hands on the handles.

As always, he had no doubt.

No doubt that the surgery would fail.

* * *

70 minutes later.

Jun-hoo entered the observation room.

“Doctor Seo, welcome.”

The hospital director greeted Jun-hoo with a beaming smile.

He nudged the director of medical affairs, who was sitting next to him, and sat Jun-hoo in his seat.

The director of medical affairs made a face as if he had eaten dog poop, but he didn’t care.

At least today’s protagonist was Jun-hoo.

“There was a reason why you were so confident? Robotic surgery was very impressive.”

“Thank you. What did the vice president think?”

“I’m not a surgeon, so what would I know?”

The vice president continued to speak, exuding the coldness of midwinter.

“Since the chief pushed this project, I expected the chief to do well in surgery. The problem is the others.”

“The other professors will do well too. Right? Doctor Seo?”

“Yes. You can rest assured.”

Jun-hoo was still full of confidence.

The hospital director liked his confident attitude.

Before the next robotic surgery began.

The hospital director crossed his arms and looked back on Jun-hoo’s robotic surgery.

Like a grandmaster of Mayo [referring to the Mayo Clinic, a leading medical center].

Jun-hoo handled the robot as naturally as his own limbs.

*Swish, swish.*

The staff disinfected the patient’s head and covered it with a blue surgical drape.

The second-year resident was in charge of the scalp incision.

He was anxious the whole time he was watching, but the second-year resident’s touch was more skillful than he thought.

The 2-centimeter-wide incisions near the crown of the head were clean.

*Wee-ing, wee-ing.*

Jun-hoo, or rather, the robot, began to perform from then on.

Originally, the patient’s skull would have to be widely incised and lifted like a lid, but robotic surgery did not require that.

A hole the size of a little finger was drilled in the skull.

A robotic arm with an endoscope was inserted through the hole,

And robotic arms with various surgical tools were pushed in.

During the surgery.

The hospital director was nervous.

First of all, the surgical field of vision was too narrow.

It was like being trapped in a cave.

In regular surgery, the surgical site can be viewed comfortably and widely, but the field of vision in robotic surgery had to rely solely on the narrow field of vision provided by the endoscope.

Since the incision was narrow, the range of motion was naturally limited.

But that’s where the true value of robotic surgery was revealed.

Unlike humans, the robotic arm could twist its wrist joint 360 degrees.

The range of motion could be compensated for by the angle of the wrist.

“First, we will remove the inferior frontal gyrus [part of the frontal lobe of the brain], which is the site of epilepsy, with radiofrequency. Then, we will insert electrodes into the middle frontal gyrus and its surrounding area, avoiding nerves and blood vessels.”

Jun-hoo’s voice, heard through the microphone, was clear and resonant.

From then on, everything went as Jun-hoo said.

Jun-hoo, sitting at the surgical console, was like a pianist.

When he moved his hands skillfully, the robot reacted sensitively to his movements.

*Chii-ik.*

The cautery device [instrument used to burn tissue] attached to the robotic arm accurately located and cauterized the site of the epilepsy.

The robotic arm knew exactly where to go and where to stop.

Sparks flew and white smoke rose.

There was no damage to the surrounding nerves and blood vessels.

Throughout the surgery, the intracranial pressure [pressure inside the skull] remained within the normal range of 5 mmHg [millimeters of mercury, a unit of pressure].

*Thump!*

*Thump!*

Jun-hoo’s footwork, stepping on the pedals, was as light as his hand movements.

According to Jun-hoo’s footwork, the endoscope camera switched wildly like the camera in a music program.

Jun-hoo was editing the surgical field of vision with his feet.

The field of vision, moving up, down, left, and right, was fast and dizzying.

But it accurately aimed at the surgical site every time.

The electrode insertion to correct the faulty brain nerve circuit was also smooth.

A patch the size of a thumbnail.

It was inserted near the patient’s middle frontal gyrus as if planting seeds.

The task itself was simple, but the difficulty was not low.

If the insertion site of the patch is not accurate, the brain nerves will not be properly stimulated.

Here again.

The true value of robotic surgery was demonstrated.

Everyone’s hands shake to some extent, but the robotic arm did not shake.

Since there was no shaking.

The patch was not inserted in the wrong place.

The patch stuck to the brain perfectly.

“Give it an electrical signal.”

“Yes, Chief.”

At Jun-hoo’s instruction, the staff sent electricity to the patch.

It could be confirmed through electroencephalography [test that detects electrical activity in the brain].

That some of the brain waves that had been inactive were reviving.

This current would reliably prevent the patient from having seizures in the future.

The surgery ended in an hour.

The small incision was a disadvantage during the surgery, but it became an infinite advantage when finishing the surgery.

The time it took to restore the skull was literally a blink of an eye.

The hole-punched skull was blocked with a medical material.

And the 2-centimeter incision was easily sewn up.

The hospital director, having finished his recollection, smiled. He looked at the vice president and spoke.

“Isn’t the surgery fee high because it’s not covered by insurance, and the surgery turnover rate is excellent?”

The hospital director acted as if he had carried out the project himself and performed the surgery himself.

“Vice President, shouldn’t you start opening your mind?”

“First of all, all of today’s surgeries must be successful. And even then, I’ll watch for another month.”

“…….”

“If satisfactory results are maintained, I will keep my promise.”

The vice president stared at Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo nodded instead of answering.

Shortly after, the second player of the day.

Chun Seok-young entered the operating room.

The hospital director became slightly anxious.

Chun Seok-young was quite old, and the older he was, the more difficult it was for him to digest new medical technologies.

It was difficult for anyone to break away from what they were used to.

Perhaps reading the hospital director’s feelings.

Jun-hoo opened his mouth first for the first time in a while.

A faint smile was already on his lips.

“There’s no need to worry about Professor Chun. Rather, Professor Chun is more skilled than Professor Jung.”

“I thought Professor Jung would be young and quick-witted, but it’s unexpected.”

“Yes. People who have a lot to lose tend to be more desperate.”

Would Jun-hoo be right this time too?

The hospital director kept a close eye on Chun Seok-young as he headed to the operating table.