A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 104

The Impasse (4)

Ending the call, Jun-hoo returned to the operating table.

His steps were heavier than when he had left to answer the phone.

“Hey, why the long face? What’s wrong?”

“Well… something troublesome has come up.”

Jun-hoo spoke with difficulty.

He summarized and relayed the story he had just heard from the nurse.

Four construction workers who had fallen due to the collapse of a safety platform at a construction site had simultaneously arrived at the emergency room.

However, the surgical staff was short-handed, so they were asking if Young-hwan could quickly finish the abdominal stab wound surgery and move on to another surgery.

“This is a headache. The surgery isn’t over yet.”

Young-hwan frowned and looked down at the patient.

The current progress of the surgery was 80 percent.

The remaining 20 percent wasn’t a particularly difficult stage, but it was true that it seemed too much for Jae-seok and Jun-hoo alone to handle.

“Leave the rest to us and go, senior.”

“I’d love to, but would that be okay?”

“If it’s not okay, we’ll have to make it okay. You came to help with our department’s surgery in the first place, so we can’t hold you back any longer.”

“Even if I leave the operating room in the middle, I’m still the chief surgeon. Do you know what that means?”

Young-hwan expressed his anxiety.

Even if problems arose in the surgery being performed only by Jae-seok and Jun-hoo.

He emphasized that he would ultimately be responsible.

“Yes, I know.”

“Then I’ll trust you two. Please don’t disappoint me.”

“Doctor, I said I had something to tell you…”

Jun-hoo joined the conversation for once.

There was a reason why Young-hwan couldn’t leave like this.

“Sorry, can you tell Jae-seok? Jae-seok can handle it well enough.”

Young-hwan hurriedly left the operating room, perhaps worried about the other surgery.

If things are going to get twisted, they really get twisted.

Jun-hoo was disappointed, but only for a moment.

Dealing with twisted situations and unexpected situations was also an important virtue of a surgeon.

If you desperately look for a breakthrough.

You will surely find one.

“Chief, I’ll call for one more scrub nurse. The regular surgery schedule is full, and emergency patients have arrived, so it’s hard to add an intern assistant.”

“You should. But you suddenly seem very motivated?”

“Doctor Young-hwan trusted me, so I want to show him the results.”

“Okay. Let’s switch places first.”

Young-hwan moved to the chief surgeon’s position.

Jun-hoo moved to the position where Young-hwan had been standing.

Scrub nurses stood on either side of them.

Before the second half began.

Jun-hoo stared at Jae-seok, who was standing opposite him.

The position Jun-hoo was standing in now was a position that an intern could never stand in.

The first assistant, opposite the chief surgeon, was usually a position that a second-year resident would take.

But Jun-hoo didn’t feel any pressure at all.

Rather, he was excited by the fact that he could fully display his talents.

I’ll show you properly.

The skills I’ve honed so far.

* * *

Jun-hoo’s assist was flawless.

In the Murim [martial arts world] world, Jun-hoo’s nickname was Flawless Sword.

It was given to him by people around him because his swordsmanship was so solid that there were no flaws.

The aspect of the Flawless Sword was fully demonstrated even in the modern operating room.

Irrigation (washing) to secure the field of vision and prevent contamination.

Holding to smoothly assist the chief surgeon’s suturing.

Suction and hemostasis [stopping blood flow] of bleeding areas, etc.

Jun-hoo helped Jae-seok in every way.

With Jun-hoo’s help, Jae-seok continued the surgery more comfortably.

Smooth surgery.

Even the restoration of the last remaining organ, the liver, was progressing steadily.

The blood vessels that had caused the bleeding were conquered one by one.

The lower part of the right lobe of the liver, which had been torn to shreds by the knife, was also firmly sutured.

Click!

A cheerful snipping sound.

The last knot suturing the liver was cut off by Jun-hoo’s hand.

“Thanks to you, I can take a breather. Thanks for your hard work, Jun-hoo.”

Jae-seok straightened his back and said in a relieved voice.

Now, all that was left was to sew up the peritoneum [membrane lining the abdominal cavity] and the abdominal incision again.

The person who made the biggest contribution to this surgery was, of course, Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo’s assist was by no means like that of an intern.

His concentration never wavered even once.

He broadly encompassed the surgical process.

And his dexterity with his left and right hands was full of wit.

“Chief. I don’t think the surgery is over yet.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I’ve been looking at the spleen since earlier. I don’t think the spleen looks good.”

Following Jun-hoo’s gaze, Jae-seok also looked down at the spleen.

The spleen was peeking out from behind the stomach. It was only showing about a third of its original appearance.

“The spleen has nothing to do with this surgery. It wasn’t stabbed by a knife either.”

Jae-seok dismissed Jun-hoo’s point.

It seemed like Jun-hoo was worrying unnecessarily.

“There was severe bleeding at the beginning of the surgery. I know that if there is severe bleeding, splenomegaly [enlargement of the spleen] may occur as the spleen function is enhanced.”

After speaking, Jun-hoo slightly lifted the stomach that was covering the spleen with forceps.

Only then did the spleen reveal its full appearance.

Was it because he had just heard Jun-hoo’s words?

Jae-seok felt like the spleen really seemed a little swollen.

“Hmm… now that I hear it, it does seem a little swollen. How long have you been watching the spleen?”

“It’s been about 40 minutes. According to my calculations, it has grown about 1.7 times its original size.”

There was no hesitation in Jun-hoo’s answer.

“You’ve been busy assisting, but you were calculating all that?”

“Yes. This was also the part I was going to tell Doctor Young-hwan about earlier.”

Jun-hoo’s observation skills were amazing.

In fact, Jae-seok had no interest in the spleen at all.

That’s because the spleen was not the site of the stab wound in the first place.

But Jun-hoo was different.

He not only kept a close eye on the spleen, which was not the surgical site, but also closely observed the changes in the spleen.

Senior Young-hwan didn’t even mention the spleen.

So, he was seeing something that Senior Young-hwan didn’t see?

At this point, Jun-hoo’s observation skills and concentration seemed to be at a superhuman level.

“It’s unsettling, so it’s better to check it. Nurse, please draw the patient’s blood and send it to the lab.”

“Yes.”

The nurse, who received Jae-seok’s instructions, drew blood and sent the sample out of the operating room.

The blood test results that came out 15 minutes later were shocking.

The red blood cell, white blood cell, and platelet counts were far below normal.

The patient was suffering from severe splenomegaly.

Jun-hoo’s eye for detail was accurate.

And Jun-hoo’s diagnosis was one step ahead of the test results.

* * *

“We almost finished the surgery leaving the enlarged spleen behind. Jun-hoo, you’re so perceptive!”

“I just got lucky.”

Although he spoke modestly, tremendous effort was hidden behind Jun-hoo’s back.

Throughout the assist.

He unfolded the Manhwa Gong [a technique to enhance focus], using his concentration sparingly.

And he even used the Fierce Bird Gong [a technique to enhance vision], which amplifies his vision.

-I said earlier that I can’t guarantee the patient’s life, but I will do my best.

-Yes. You said that.

-I will save the patient no matter what. Even if I have to risk everything.

Before entering the operating room.

Jun-hoo burned with determination to keep the promise he had made to the guardian.

So, he unfolded everything he could do during the surgery.

The result was the secret to discovering splenomegaly.

“Chief. Is splenectomy [surgical removal of the spleen] possible?”

Jun-hoo asked cautiously.

“Of course, it’s possible. I’ve done it more than ten times. It’s not that difficult once you get used to it. It’ll be over in about 20-30 minutes.”

“That’s reassuring, Chief.”

“Then trust me. 10 blade. Aaaagh!”

Clang!

Jae-seok’s scream burst out first.

Followed by the sound of the scalpel falling.

Jun-hoo blinked at the sudden disaster.

What on earth….

“I… I’m sorry, Doctor.”

The scrub nurse who was helping Jae-seok kept bowing her head.

Jae-seok was holding his right index finger with his left hand.

The cause of the incident was this.

The scrub nurse handed Jae-seok the scalpel.

Unfortunately, she accidentally pointed the blade towards Jae-seok.

Jae-seok didn’t know this and grabbed the scalpel, cutting his finger on the scalpel.

“No! How can you forget such a basic thing? Are you trying to ruin the surgery now!”

“I’m so sorry. I think I was too nervous.”

“No, I understand that you’re new and I understand that you’re nervous. But this is too much. Ha… damn….”

Jae-seok snapped irritably.

The atmosphere in the operating room became dangerous and ominous, as if it would explode at any moment.

Jae-seok, who was capable of splenectomy, injured his finger?

No one in this place was unaware of the meaning of that.

“Senior, are you okay?”

Jun-hoo hurriedly left his position and examined Jae-seok’s finger.

Unfortunately, there were 1-centimeter-wide lacerations (cuts) on the middle and index fingers, respectively.

The surgical gloves were torn.

Red blood droplets formed through the gaps in the gloves.

In a normal situation, he would have brushed it off without much thought, but he couldn’t do that now.

This was an operating room, and Jae-seok was the chief surgeon.

“Ha… I can’t do a splenectomy? My hand is tingling too much.”

Jae-seok frowned and said.

“It’s not like I can use both hands like you.”

“Get treatment first.”

Jun-hoo took off Jae-seok’s gloves first.

After disinfecting the finger wounds.

He wrapped a bandage over them and secured it with a band-aid.

The treatment was light because it was a minor injury.

The problem was the situation after this.

After Jae-seok’s injury.

The atmosphere in the operating room was like a funeral home.

The scrub nurse who made the mistake didn’t know what to do, Jae-seok was angry and panting.

And the other staff members lost their words, watching Jae-seok’s mood.

“I’ll find another chief surgeon, so please go back and rest, senior.”

“Even Senior Young-hwan, who was doing surgery, was called to another operating room. There’s such a shortage of staff, who will replace me?”

“Still, you can’t operate with that hand.”

Jun-hoo didn’t want Jae-seok to overdo it.

No matter how small the injury.

It was bound to have a big impact on important and urgent matters.

What if Jae-seok felt pain while resecting the spleen and mishandled the scalpel?

A terrible disaster was sure to occur.

“We can’t call in a chief surgeon right away, can we? But wouldn’t it be possible within an hour?”

“So, you’re saying we should leave the patient unattended for an hour?”

Jae-seok retorted.

“If there was no splenomegaly, it would have been okay for the surgery to be delayed for about an hour. But now that we’ve discovered splenomegaly, that’s not possible.”

“…….”

“We have to continue the surgery as soon as possible.”

After speaking, Jae-seok stared intently at Jun-hoo.

“Do the splenectomy, you do it.”

“Me?”

Jun-hoo’s eyes widened at Jae-seok’s unconventional decision.

He didn’t have the medical knowledge of splenectomy.

He had never even observed a splenectomy assist.

Jun-hoo knew nothing about splenectomy.

But he was being asked to take on an important surgery himself?

No matter how good Jun-hoo was, it was hard to shake off the pressure.

“If it’s you, who I’ve been watching so far, you can do it well enough. Just follow my instructions.”

“Can’t we buy time with medication?”

Jae-seok shook his head firmly at Jun-hoo’s question.

“No. There’s no other way. If there was, I wouldn’t have even thought of entrusting it to you in the first place.”

“So, you’re saying that it’s best for me to operate?”

“That’s right.”

Jae-seok’s answer was short and concise.

Jun-hoo stared silently at the patient’s spleen.

The spleen was even more enlarged than before. It looked like a balloon full of air.

The 고민 [worry/anguish] didn’t last long.

A former swordsman shouldn’t refuse to use a scalpel.

Perhaps today was the day.

He may have gotten the chance to unfold the true meaning of the life-saving sword.

Yes.

Even if others can’t do it, I can.

Jun-hoo’s eyes, who had hardened his resolve, burned with motivation. The current situation even felt like fate.

“I’ll do the splenectomy.”