A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 139

The Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts-139

The Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts 139

Chapter 25: Eureka (4)

This guy has no middle ground. He doesn’t know moderation.

Hee-joon admired Jun-hoo’s skin incision, again and again.

How could the cut surface be so artistically horizontal?

And the length.

And the depth.

Hee-joon knew that Jun-hoo was unusual, but he was always surprised whenever Jun-hoo showed his skills.

Jun-hoo always exceeded Hee-joon’s expectations.

“Senior, hemostasis, please.”

“I was spacing out for a second, sorry.”

Hee-joon held the gauze with forceps and wiped the blood flowing from the incision.

As the blood was wiped away, the incision became clearer.

The incision was, as expected, fantastic.

Who would think this was the work of a first-year resident?

In Hee-joon’s eyes, Jun-hoo was not a person but a swordsman character from a game or animation.

He also had the atmosphere of a swordsman from a martial arts novel.

Thanks to his father being a martial arts enthusiast, Hee-joon had quite a bit of knowledge about martial arts novels.

“Before cutting the skull, let’s try something out.”

“What test?”

“A math test.”

Hee-joon took out a medical ruler from the dressing cart.

He measured the incision with the ruler.

Surprisingly, the incision was exactly 4 centimeters.

There wasn’t even a 0.1-millimeter error.

He thought it was an incision as if measured with a ruler, but it turned out to be the exact length as if measured with a ruler.

“Do you have a ruler attached to your hand?”

“Maybe I do. My sense of touch is exceptionally sensitive and delicate.”

“Can you perhaps measure centimeters with your hand?”

“Yes. I can match the desired length, vertical, and horizontal alignment. I’ll show you since you seem curious.”

“…….”

“Don’t misunderstand, I’m not kidding.”

Jun-hoo said calmly and threw the gauze into the air.

Whoosh.

The scalpel drew a chilling trajectory in the air.

Jun-hoo’s hand movements were so fast that Hee-joon couldn’t see the process properly.

When he came to his senses.

The gauze was already in Jun-hoo’s hand.

“I cut it to 5 centimeters.”

“It… it looks like it.”

Hee-joon stuttered, shocked.

The 10-centimeter-long gauze was cut vertically.

From the midpoint to the end.

At this point, there was no need to measure the length with a ruler.

“Wow, is this even possible? Gauze tissue is tough, so it’s hard to cut with a scalpel.”

“…….”

“And you cut it while it was falling in the air, not fixed in place.”

The scrub nurse, who had been silent, clicked her tongue and said.

Hee-joon had exactly the same thought as the scrub nurse.

“I have a peculiar personality. I watched a lot of sword-fighting movies when I was young and imitated them, so it turned out like this.”

Jun-hoo’s answer was poor, but Hee-joon couldn’t argue.

By cutting the gauze in the air.

Jun-hoo proved his skill.

Should I have watched and imitated martial arts movies in advance if I knew I was going to become a neurosurgeon?

Hee-joon even had such an absurd thought.

“Oops. I spent too much time satisfying my curiosity. Let’s continue with the craniotomy.”

“Yes. Senior.”

Hee-joon used a fixed retractor to open the incision.

The hard skull revealed itself.

“Give me the drill. I’ll make the holes.”

Wee-ing.

The drill emitted a loud noise from Jun-hoo’s hand.

Just by the sound.

You would mistake this place for a woodworking shop, not an operating room.

As Jun-hoo used the drill, bone fragments scattered in all directions.

The white bone fragments looked like sleet.

Jun-hoo made holes in four places in the skull in just 2 minutes.

The holes formed a perfect square.

Usually, they use the drill carefully for fear of piercing the meninges [membranes covering the brain and spinal cord].

But Jun-hoo’s hand movements were unrestrained.

There was no hesitation in selecting the location where the drill should enter.

There was no hesitation in judging the depth of the drill.

All treatments were completed in one go.

Perhaps that’s why.

Hee-joon was confused as to whether his mission was to assist Jun-hoo or to admire Jun-hoo’s treatment.

“I’ll cut the skull.”

“Okay. You’re doing well. Keep doing it like that.”

Using the craniotome [a specialized saw for cutting the skull].

Jun-hoo neatly cut the skull. When Hee-joon revealed the cut bone flap, the meninges appeared.

The process was textbook.

The result was shocking.

The speed and quality of Jun-hoo’s craniotomy far surpassed Hee-joon.

“Watching you do the craniotomy, it somehow overlaps with the professor.”

“You are indeed a senior. You have a good eye.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“This craniotomy is in the style of Professor Han Yong-seok.”

Jun-hoo’s eyes were smiling.

After hearing that, he seemed to know what it meant.

Not exceeding 4 centimeters for the incision.

Drilling holes in the four directions of the skull, etc.

Ending the craniotomy as quickly as possible.

As Jun-hoo said.

This was Professor Han Yong-seok’s signature craniotomy.

It’s easy to watch, but it’s extremely difficult to follow.

Jun-hoo did that difficult thing.

If he’s this good as a first-year resident.

How will Jun-hoo change in a few years?

Just imagining that.

Hee-joon got goosebumps on his forearms.

“Senior, I’ll cut the meninges, so please navigate.”

“Okay.”

Jun-hoo used a bipolar coagulator to penetrate the dura mater, arachnoid membrane, and pia mater in order [the three layers of the meninges].

Meanwhile, Hee-joon held a pointer resembling an endoscope camera and tracked Jun-hoo’s movements.

The video taken by the camera.

Was reflected in real-time on the MRI image displayed on the monitor.

This is the neurosurgery navigation system.

The brain navigation device.

Because the captured video was immediately reflected in the MRI.

It was possible to reduce the effort of moving the patient to the examination room for MRI during surgery.

The medical technology of neurosurgery was developing day by day.

About 10 minutes later.

The craniotomy and surgical site approach led by Jun-hoo successfully concluded.

Hee-joon had nothing to criticize.

Hee-joon had nothing to teach separately.

Hee-joon had more to learn from Jun-hoo’s craniotomy.

* * *

After the minor surgery, Jun-hoo and Hee-joon’s positions changed.

Hee-joon took the place where Jun-hoo had stood, and Jun-hoo moved next to Hee-joon.

They each returned to their positions as first assistant and second assistant.

Now, once the professor arrives, the full-scale tumor removal surgery will begin.

I’m definitely suited for surgery.

Jun-hoo stared blankly at his hand.

After finishing the craniotomy, his hand trembled slightly.

The reason his hand trembled.

Was not because he had hand tremors.

Nor was it because he was nervous about the upcoming surgery.

It was because of the sense of accomplishment and excitement that he had flawlessly performed the craniotomy.

Certainly, the life-saving sword and the killing sword were on different levels.

After cutting down villains in the Murim world [a fictional world of martial arts and chivalry, often used in Korean novels].

Jun-hoo always had to suffer from 찝찝함 [찝찝함 is a Korean word that describes a feeling of unpleasantness, discomfort, or guilt], unpleasantness, and disgust.

Even if he comforted himself that he had killed those who deserved to die.

He could not easily shake off the sticky and dark emotions.

But it was different when using the modern sword.

The life-saving sword, the scalpel.

Every time he used the scalpel and surgical instruments, positive energy was enhanced.

Even if it was the same sword.

The results obtained depending on the purpose were worlds apart.

“There, the professor is coming in. Stay focused.”

“Yes. Senior.”

Jun-hoo’s gaze turned to Professor Jang Ho-young.

Ho-young was about 170 centimeters tall.

And he was quite plump.

The dragonfly glasses he was wearing were particularly impressive.

Ho-young was a master of brain tumor surgery, but coincidentally, Jun-hoo had never been an assistant in Ho-young’s surgery.

“I’m a little late because the surgery I did earlier got twisted. Sorry. Thank you all for waiting.”

Ho-young stood at the position of the chief surgeon and apologized to the staff first.

Unlike other neurosurgeons, Ho-young’s personality seemed gentle.

“No. The professor is the one who suffered.”

“That’s right. Where should I check the progress?”

Ho-young examined the patient’s temporal lobe.

He also examined the MRI image connected to the brain navigation device.

“Hee-joon.”

“Yes. Professor.”

“Your craniotomy skills have improved a lot. It’s clean without any flaws? It will be easy to restore it after the surgery.”

“That’s Professor…….”

“Why?”

“Jun-hoo did today’s craniotomy, not me.”

“Jun-hoo did it?”

Ho-young stared at Jun-hoo with eyes as round as an owl’s.

“A first-year resident did the craniotomy? With this much skill?”

“Yes. I entrusted it to him because he usually handles treatments and work so well, and he did well this time too.”

“Hmm…… he certainly has talent. Hee-joon, you need to step up too. And Jun-hoo, you showed great skill without even being nervous.”

“You flatter me.”

Jun-hoo smiled awkwardly.

He also felt rewarded that Ho-young recognized him.

“Okay. Then let’s start the surgery in earnest. Don’t be too nervous and just do it as usual.”

Following Ho-young’s meticulous orders, the grand glioblastoma [a type of aggressive brain tumor] resection began.

As if promised.

The staff all brought their eyes close to the microscope.

In neurosurgery.

And in brain surgery.

The microscope was an indispensable ingredient.

Only with the high magnification provided by the microscope.

Can the damage to the fine nerves, fine blood vessels, and brain tissue located in the brain be minimized.

While Ho-young and Hee-joon were approaching the deep part of the temporal lobe where the glioblastoma was located.

Jun-hoo used both hands.

With his right hand, he held the navigation pointer and tracked the movements of the two.

With his left hand.

He irrigated the brain with saline to prevent the brain from drying out.

The ambidextrous technique he had learned since his orthopedic residency was ripe.

Jun-hoo had no hesitation in using both hands.

There was no tremor in either hand.

And the tools in his hands did not move awkwardly.

“Jun-hoo, are you ambidextrous?”

“Yes.”

“This is reassuring? It’s like having one more assistant?”

Ho-young’s voice seemed somehow excited.

But Jun-hoo was just as surprised.

Even while speaking, Ho-young’s concentration did not waver.

The hand movements approaching the tumor were no different from the beginning.

Indeed, Ho-young was a master of brain tumor surgery.

I can’t miss this good opportunity. I’ll make it all mine.

While assisting.

Jun-hoo began to formalize and memorize Ho-young’s surgical procedure as techniques.

If the current situation was compared to the Murim world.

It was no different from a master showing advanced martial arts for free right in front of his eyes.

It was a waste to miss it while watching with his eyes open.

“Hee-joon, can you retract the temporal lobe of the brain slightly? The tumor is between the brain sulci [grooves or furrows in the brain’s surface]?”

“Yes. Professor.”

Hee-joon followed Ho-young’s order.

Using a retractor.

He delicately spread the brain lobes to the left and right so that the brain would not be damaged.

Glioblastoma gradually revealing itself.

As examined in the preoperative MRI, the glioblastoma was large.

It was 3cm x 3cm in size.

Since the patient had ingested a fluorescent inducing agent before the surgery, the glioblastoma was red.

Other normal areas looked blue.

It was only natural that the patient’s speech was slurred and his movements were slow because such a monster was pressing on the brain nerves and blood vessels…….

Perhaps because he had experienced the Murim world.

Jun-hoo saw the glioblastoma as a vicious 魔頭(demon) [Ma-tou, a Chinese term for a powerful and evil figure, often a villain in martial arts stories].

It looked like a devil to be defeated.

In fact, Jun-hoo’s insight was not wrong.

Just as evil deeds end only when evil people are eliminated, the patient’s pain will end only when the tumor is removed.

“Hee-joon, fix the retractor and help me resect the tumor. Jun-hoo, just keep doing what you’re doing.”

“…….”

“Use navigation, irrigate, and focus on suction. It would be nice if you could use bleeding gauze whenever you have time.”

“Yes. Professor.”

Hee-joon and Jun-hoo replied in solemn voices.

The highlight of this surgery.

The climax of this surgery.