Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 138

#138 Another Level (10)

Chiiiik—

One hour passed.

Everyone in the operating room was silent.

It was to avoid disturbing the professor, who was intensely focused.

Beep, beep—

Small, regular sounds came from the monitoring equipment on the anesthesia side, in sync with the heart rate.

Amidst that, only dry requests were being briefly communicated.

“Metzenbaum.”

The professor held out his hand toward the nurse.

The nurse immediately placed the instrument in the professor’s palm.

Clack—

The sound of the surgical instrument sticking to the glove.

Properly handing over surgical instruments like this is not easy.

The surgeon must be able to grab the instrument and use it immediately at the right angle.

Of course, it can be seen as a skill that a skilled scrub nurse naturally possesses.

“Hold here.”

“Yes.”

“Tie.”

Cheon Sa-yeon moved fluidly according to the professor’s instructions.

Meanwhile, I was focused on securing the field of vision, holding the Richardson retractor for an hour.

This also requires attention.

Even my slightest movement could change the view of the surgical field.

Soon, within the patient’s abdomen, which had seemed chaotic, the uterus and ovaries began to be separated from the patient’s body as a single mass.

“Sa-yeon, can you see? It’s spread to the rectum and omentum [a fold of peritoneum connecting or supporting abdominal viscera].”

“Yes.”

A surgery that requires the resection [surgical removal] of various intra-abdominal tissues.

The name included in the final surgical name can sometimes exceed 50, depending on what needs to be cut out.

But in the end, the basic principles are all the same.

First, cut out as much as possible surgically.

Second, treat the rest with chemotherapy.

It sounds simple, but it is a risky surgery that involves cutting out many organs.

“And……”

The professor paused while speaking and glanced at me.

“Our intern seems curious too?”

Uh?

Before I knew it, my body was leaning forward like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I was embarrassed, and the professor smiled with his eyes.

“I really like that proactive attitude. If the intern just stands there like a stone statue, they can’t learn anything. Intern, come over here and take a good look.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The professor gave me, as well as Cheon Sa-yeon, an opportunity to learn.

I bowed my head lightly and looked inside the abdomen as the professor showed me.

“……”

I swallowed hard under my mask.

The omentum, a fatty membrane.

The large intestine, small intestine, and rectum.

The liver and diaphragm, etc.

I could see in detail the normal organs that were alive and breathing, and the cancerous tissues that had partially spread.

If is made up of a combination of yellow fat and pink tissues…….

appear white like small grains.

The color is white, but they are incredibly evil.

I suddenly remembered the story I had heard before the surgery.

I want to make this patient healthy.

I want to make her go on a trip abroad, something she has never been able to do in her life.

While I was thinking this and pulling on the Richardson retractor, the professor said,

“We’ll have to cut out the rectum here too.”

Because the cancer had spread beyond the uterus to the intestines, it meant that part of the rectum had to be resected.

“After we do this part, it looks like we’ll need help from the general surgery department. Are they ready to go?”

“Yes, Professor.”

Cheon Sa-yeon answered immediately.

Obstetrics and Gynecology + General Surgery Collaboration.

This is called a joint surgery.

It meant that after the Obstetrics and Gynecology department did what they could, the General Surgery department would come in and perform the rectal resection, which was their area of expertise.

Such joint surgeries can take from 5 hours to, depending on the situation, up to 10 hours.

“It might take longer than we thought.”

The professor said, moving his hands busily again.

Cancer surgery that takes place over such a long period of time is nothing short of a fierce war.

For the patient, and for us medical staff as well.

* * *

3 hours passed.

The professor, who had been concentrating for a long time, suddenly let out a low groan.

“Hmm…… okay.”

Thud—

The professor finally resected the patient’s uterus and placed it on the tray.

Soon, the bright red tissue was moved into the specimen container by the nurse.

“Can you call general surgery now?”

“Yes.”

Is this the end of the first half?

I finally took the strength out of my shoulders.

Despite the cool temperature of the operating room, I could feel a slight sweat on my back.

And when I took the strength out of my body, my shoulders felt stiff and my arms were numb.

Buzz—

After a while, the operating room door opened and two general surgeons came in.

But in the meantime, I saw a familiar silhouette.

‘Senior Byeon Gyu-nam?’

It was definitely Doctor Byeon from general surgery.

He was wearing a mask, but I could tell because of his plump lower body and unique gait.

He winked at me comically, so it was definitely him.

That’s what his eyes seemed to be asking.

It was nice to see him in a place like this after a long time.

He must have followed the general surgery professor as the first assistant.

I greeted him with just a nod.

We only communicated with eye contact, but the professors were chatting amiably with each other.

They seemed to know each other well.

“Oh, Doctor Shin.”

“We just need to resect the part that the tumor has eaten, right?”

“That’s right. Please do a good job.”

“I saw the CT scan, and I thought the professor could have done this alone.”

“What are you talking about, you. To be sure, general surgery has to do it.”

“Haha. But only me and one resident from our department came down. Can we borrow an intern from obstetrics and gynecology?”

“Oh, sure, sure.”

The obstetrics and gynecology professor readily agreed to lend me out.

It was like that situation.

Like lending an eraser to the person next to you in school…….

I, who had suddenly become a communal eraser, felt like screaming.

That’s because there was no time to take a break by rotating personnel.

‘I can’t help it.’

The eraser has to play its role as an eraser.

Even if it wears out.

‘Let’s concentrate until the end!’

As I was thinking that, Doctor Byeon came to my side and nudged my leg with his knee.

That’s what he seemed to be saying.

Then, the obstetrics and gynecology professor, who was about to leave the operating room, turned around and added a word.

“Oh, right. And this patient, there’s something strange about her…….”

Something strange?

Was there a problem during the surgery just now?

I listened to the professors’ conversation.

“This patient has a PCI (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) [a procedure to open blocked or narrowed coronary arteries] history. But she said she stopped taking her medication, but it seems like she didn’t follow it properly.”

“Oh. Really? Aspirin or clopidogrel [an antiplatelet medication used to prevent blood clots]?”

“I think it’s clopidogrel, but at this level?”

The professors’ conversation was fast.

A conversation between people who understand each other with just a glance.

They were voices that could easily be overlooked, but I listened carefully.

Clopidogrel.

A drug that thins the blood.

Patients who have stents inserted into their coronary arteries take it to prevent blood clots from forming.

However, in preparation for surgery, medication should be stopped 5-7 days before to prepare for the possibility of bleeding.

But did Jeong Sun-rye not properly follow the instructions to stop taking that medication?

“It’s not severe, but we need to pay attention.”

“I understand.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Doctor Cheon Sa-yeon also left the operating room, following the professor.

The nurse who had been scrubbing in also changed at this time, and in the end, I was the only one left on the field from the original members.

I became the second assistant to the general surgeon and continued the surgery on patient Jeong Sun-rye.

* * *

Another hour passed.

The general surgery was also completed.

Fortunately, the area of the large intestine that needed to be resected was not large.

It took longer than expected due to some adhesions, but the surgery was able to be completed.

Although it was stage 3, it was one of the better cases.

“Everyone worked hard. Let’s call the obstetrics and gynecology doctors again and get out of here.”

“Yes.”

“Our intern doctor will have to work a little harder. You had to stand in as our second assistant, so you suffered.”

“It’s nothing.”

I answered lightly to the professor’s casual remark.

‘Ugh.’

Crack—

I stretched my back.

Of course, both hands were still on the surgical field.

You have to be careful because your hands can be contaminated at any time if they come up above your chest.

I stretched my legs, which had become stiff like wood, by bending my knees alternately.

Then, Doctor Byeon, who was following the professor out of the operating room, quickly turned back to me and whispered.

“Seon-han.”

“Yes?”

“I have something important to tell you.”

Important?

Doctor Byeon had a serious expression for once.

He whispered softly in my ear.

“I’m done with work today after this surgery.”

“……That’s good for you.”

“It is, right? Hehe. You’re going to be in the operating room again in 10 minutes after this, right?”

It seemed like he had deliberately turned back to come to my side to tease me.

“Oh, I don’t know how interns live with such a tough schedule? Wooheeheet!”

Doctor Byeon wiggled his big butt and exited the operating room.

Oh, how annoying.

I want to flick him on the forehead.

He’s so consistent.

I chuckled under my mask and continued to stretch in place.

‘But I don’t feel too bad.’

The surgery went well.

Of course, I couldn’t see all the progress well from my side.

But I could guess from the story of the obstetrics and gynecology professor who soon returned to the operating room.

“At this level, the tumor spread wasn’t too severe. The surgery seems to have gone well, right?”

“Yes. Thanks to the professor’s skills.”

Cheon Sa-yeon flattered again as naturally as breathing.

The professor looked around the abdomen again and nodded.

“Let’s close. Good job!”

“Thank you for your hard work, Professor!”

Buzz—

The professor left.

Now, all that’s left is to do the final irrigation and suture, and the surgery is over!

As soon as I thought that, the tension was released.

Cheon Sa-yeon glanced at me and said.

“What’s wrong? Are you tired of scrubbing in for 5 hours straight by yourself? Back in my day, I even went into 10-hour surgeries in the thoracic surgery department.”

Cheon Sa-yeon tried another boomer attack, and poured saline solution to wash the inside of the abdomen.

Irrigation.

The process of washing the inside of the patient’s body for the last time after the main procedure of the surgery is finished.

In this process, bleeding sites are checked, and it is also checked whether there are any remaining gauze in the body.

Soon, the irrigation was over.

Now, to close the abdomen, Doctor Cheon Sa-yeon held the needle holder, and I held the scissors.

‘But why do I suddenly feel uneasy……?’

I thought about the patient’s condition, which had been bothering me since last night.

‘Am I just being too sensitive?’

If there was a problem, the professor or Cheon Sa-yeon wouldn’t have missed it.

They have hundreds more experiences in gynecology than I do.

Just as I was thinking that.

“……!”

Whoosh—

Time slows down.

Soon, the view in front of me, illuminated by the surgical light, darkens.

Power outage?

No, that can’t be.

The operating room of Yeon-guk University Hospital uses an emergency power system, so there is no power outage.

This is, my vision is darkening.

‘Huh? Wait a minute…….’

Something is a little strange.

This doesn’t seem to be showing me the future?