A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 154

Chapter 28: A New Wind (4)

“A good method?”

“Yes. In the current situation, I think it’s worth trying.”

Jun-hoo said in a serious voice.

If Jun-hoo from two months ago had faced this situation, he would have been helpless.

A situation where even the chief surgeon was at a loss.

What could Jun-hoo, a first-year resident, have done?

But the current Jun-hoo was different.

Two months ago, Jun-hoo took Jae-hyun as his mentor and immersed himself in Park Jae-hyun’s secret manual (a collection of brain tumor papers and data), filled with his mentor’s hard work and dedication.

He digested it as his own.

So, he became knowledgeable about brain tumors.

The time to unleash that knowledge was now.

“Jun-hoo. Shh.”

Hee-joon, who was next to Jun-hoo, raised his index finger to his mask.

It meant to be careful with his words.

It meant to be cautious about stepping forward recklessly in front of Dong-hoon.

“There’s no need to warn Jun-hoo. This isn’t the time to be picky. If you have a good idea, speak up.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

Jun-hoo paused before continuing.

“Isn’t the biggest problem right now the inability to secure a clear surgical view?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“In this situation, wouldn’t it be better to use an endoscope [a thin, flexible tube with a camera attached]?”

“An endoscope?”

“Yes. We can’t directly see the basilar artery with our eyes, but we can see it with an endoscope. If we approach the bleeding area with a camera and cauterize [burn or seal] it, I think we have a good chance of success.”

Jun-hoo presented his opinion clearly.

There was a similar situation described in his mentor’s secret manual.

When securing a view of the deep part of the brain.

It said they used an endoscope.

“Wow, that’s a good idea! Why didn’t I think of that? Jun-hoo, you’re quite something!”

Hee-joon’s eyes, which had been displeased with Jun-hoo stepping forward, now sparkled with approval.

His voice became brighter.

Other staff members had similar reactions.

They sighed in relief or relaxed their furrowed expressions.

If they used an endoscope.

They could overcome the most troublesome problem: the limited field of vision.

However, Dong-hoon’s face, the chief surgeon, was not so bright.

He remained silent without reacting positively or negatively to Jun-hoo’s suggestion.

“The idea itself is very good, but there seems to be a problem with the execution.”

Dong-hoon’s brow furrowed.

“The process of the endoscope entering the deep part of the brain carries risks. There may be nerve and blood vessel damage in that process.”

“…….”

“Especially if you accidentally touch the cerebellum [the part of the brain at the back of the head], a major disaster will occur.”

“…….”

“It might be safer to wait a little longer for the effects of drug treatment.”

Dong-hoon did not immediately accept Jun-hoo’s opinion.

He seemed more worried about the potential risks of using an endoscope than the potential benefits.

“Professor. Even after injecting diuretics [medication to reduce fluid] and draining cerebrospinal fluid [fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord], the patient’s condition has not improved.”

“…….”

“I’m worried that the patient won’t get better if we wait. Could cerebral herniation [brain shifting due to pressure] occur?”

Jun-hoo feared the worst.

This was not an unnecessary worry.

His mentor, Jae-hyun, had also overlooked a brain hemorrhage, which led to cerebral herniation and caused great trouble.

Jun-hoo didn’t want to repeat the tragedy that Jae-hyun had already experienced. That’s why the secret manual existed.

It was Jae-hyun’s message to him: I want you to avoid the thorny path I’ve already walked.

“In the worst case, that’s possible. But…….”

Dong-hoon trailed off, looking down at the patient’s occipital lobe [the back part of the brain].

Then he shifted his gaze to the patient monitoring device.

The intracranial pressure [pressure inside the skull], which was 25 mmHg, had risen to 30 mmHg.

The deteriorating brain condition of the patient.

It was slowly tightening the staff’s breath.

Add more medication.

Or use endoscopic cauterization as Jun-hoo said.

One of the two treatments had to be done quickly.

“The idea of using an endoscope… was it Jun-hoo who came up with it?”

“No. I learned it from Professor Park.”

“Then what is the success rate of endoscopic cauterization?”

“I know it’s about 50%.”

“What if you can’t secure a surgical view with the endoscope?”

“In failed cases, the patient died because the bleeding in the brain could not be stopped.”

Jun-hoo replied with a determined expression.

No matter how famous they were.

Even the best neurosurgeon in the country.

They couldn’t save 100 percent of patients.

Especially if the surgery site was the brain.

But Jun-hoo thought he couldn’t just sit back because he was afraid.

If they thought of death as a law of nature and didn’t resist, medicine wouldn’t have developed so brilliantly.

Maybe that’s why.

Jun-hoo thought of humans as creatures of resistance.

If humans are creatures of resistance.

He thought they shouldn’t easily back down in the fight against death.

Above all, Jun-hoo hated the feeling of helplessness he felt when giving up on something.

Not being able to do anything.

It was sickening to just stand by and watch someone’s pain.

Beep beep beep.

The regular mechanical sound coming from the patient monitoring device broke the silence in the operating room.

Take the risk and move forward.

Or stay in place for safety.

The final choice was up to Dong-hoon, the chief surgeon.

Now all the staff’s senses were focused on Dong-hoon.

“I’ve heard about it from Professor Park, so I think I’ll have to rely on you this time. I’ve never used an endoscope in brain tumor surgery either…….”

“Professor. Does that mean…….”

“Jun-hoo, you grab the endoscope. If you open the view, I’ll take care of the cauterization.”

* * *

After many twists and turns, endoscopic cauterization was decided.

Because of the roles they were assigned, Jun-hoo changed places with Hee-joon, and Hee-joon changed places with Jun-hoo.

Now Dong-hoon was standing across from Jun-hoo.

To become a first assistant who can face the chief surgeon in his first year of residency…….

It was a situation that was worth being moved by, but Jun-hoo couldn’t.

The patient’s condition was too serious for that.

“Are you okay? Should I do it if you’re feeling pressured?”

Hee-joon asked Jun-hoo with a worried expression.

“Still, I think I’m a little better than my senior because I have background knowledge.”

“That’s true, but…… Ha…… I don’t know how the situation got so twisted.”

Hee-joon said in a slightly resentful tone.

“Tell me anytime if it’s too hard.”

“Thank you, Senior.”

“Take the scope (endoscope).”

Jun-hoo took the endoscope that Hee-joon handed him.

The fact that the patient’s life was in his hands brought a sense of burden, responsibility, and tension.

Jun-hoo shook off all those waves of negative emotions.

He blew them away with one deep breath.

Jun-hoo had fought countless battles with the heretics, sometimes risking his own life, sometimes risking the lives of his colleagues.

He was confident in controlling his emotions.

I’ll rewrite the myth of the Flawless Sword here today.

No failure.

No giving up.

No frustration.

Jun-hoo’s eyes, who had regained his composure, emitted a fierce light.

It was the same look that had made the Sama Order [a fictional martial arts group] tremble in the past.

“Jun-hoo, are you ready?”

“Yes. Professor.”

“I’m saying this out of concern, but be careful not to let the endoscope touch the cerebellum as much as possible. If you’re careful about that, you can avoid the worst.”

“I understand.”

Click!

Jun-hoo turned on the lens and light of the endoscope. A bright light burst out from the light.

Jun-hoo advanced the endoscope camera toward the incision in the patient’s occipital lobe.

During that time, Jun-hoo’s eyes never left the endoscope monitor.

From now on, the endoscope’s eyes were Jun-hoo’s eyes.

Swoosh.

The endoscope entered the inside of the incision.

The real war was about to begin.

Jun-hoo held the endoscope tightly in his grasp using the Golden Silk Hand technique [a fictional martial arts technique].

To prevent fine tremors in his fingers, he used the [Calm] character seal [a fictional technique for focus] on his fingers.

He used the [Soft] character seal [a fictional technique for dexterity] on his wrist.

It was a demonstration of his will to use the endoscope perfectly.

Not only that.

Jun-hoo poured internal energy [a fictional energy source] into his entire hand.

He maximized the sense of touch in his hand.

It was to detect the subtle moment when the endoscope touched the brain.

It was to prevent the tragedy of the endoscope scratching or damaging the brain.

Was it because he was firmly armed with internal energy and martial arts?

Jun-hoo’s movements were fearless.

The endoscope quickly approached the lower part of the occipital lobe.

Whirr.

At that spot, Jun-hoo gracefully bent his wrist 180 degrees.

Since the endoscope was shaped like a ‘ㄱ’, he had to make the endoscope into a ‘ㄴ’ shape to properly examine the inside.

Only then could he survey the entire field of vision around the occipital lobe and cerebellum.

Huh…….

He already has that sense.

He’s already turning the angle before I even told him to. Professor Park wouldn’t have taught him that, would he?

Dong-hoon, who was watching Jun-hoo, couldn’t help but admire him.

One of the essential virtues of a surgeon was that animalistic sense.

It’s not in the textbook.

It was a unique sense that could only be realized by bumping into the body in actual combat.

But Jun-hoo seemed to have that sense already, even though he was only in his first year.

“Professor. I will continue to move forward.”

“Yes. Just be careful as you are now.”

Dong-hoon did not take his eyes off the endoscope monitor.

A situation where Jun-hoo’s hand becomes the staff’s eyes.

The camera’s field of vision was stable and comfortable.

Jun-hoo’s hand seemed to not even know the concept of trembling. It went straight ahead, navigating the gap between the occipital lobe and the cerebellum.

So, there was no motion sickness.

As the endoscope paved the way, scenery that could not be seen through the incision unfolded on the monitor.

The wrinkled lower part of the occipital lobe.

The smooth surface of the cerebellum, etc.

At this rate, stopping the bleeding of the basilar artery was not a pipe dream.

The staff was increasingly drawn into the brain scenery on the monitor.

Hoping to see with their own eyes the appearance of the bleeding basilar artery beyond that deep darkness.

“That’s right, you’re doing well. The endoscope hasn’t even touched the brain yet.”

Dong-hoon continued to encourage Jun-hoo.

“It’s a burden, but try to move forward a little more. Go around the left side of the cerebellum and occipital lobe.”

“Yes. Professor.”

“Yes. You’re almost there. Don’t touch the cerebellar cortex [outer layer of the cerebellum]. Just a little more.”

Jun-hoo’s hand movements, who received Dong-hoon’s instructions, became more meticulous.

The distance between the endoscope and the cerebellar cortex was only 1 millimeter.

It was a precarious distance.

But this was all the distance Jun-hoo intended.

It was the distance Jun-hoo controlled.

If the distance between the cerebellum and the endoscope was too far.

The endoscope would hit the skull and not be able to move forward properly.

Jun-hoo had calculated everything from the moment he entered the cerebellum with the endoscope.

In the Murim world [a fictional martial arts world], what separated the masters from the underlings was the details.

It was the meticulousness of calculating the length of the opponent’s arm and the length of the sword.

Just because he became a surgeon didn’t mean he would forget those details.

If I’ve come this far, there can be no failure.

I will save the patient without fail.

If Professor Park’s experience and my skills cultivated in the Murim world are combined, there is nothing to fear.

“Basilar artery bleeding, confirmed.”

Jun-hoo’s reliable voice spread throughout the operating room.

Indeed, the basilar artery that crossed the cerebellum and occipital lobe.

The bleeding from the microvessels extending from that basilar artery was captured on the endoscope monitor.

The stream of blood flowing from the ruptured blood vessel was spreading around like a small stream.

“Wow! Well done, Jun-hoo.”

“Dr. Seo. Thank you for your hard work.”

“I didn’t know you could approach it so cleanly. Very well done.”

A flood of praise poured in from the staff, but Jun-hoo did not let his guard down.

He maintained a chillingly cold composure.

A celebration was something that could only be held when leaving the operating room.

“Professor. I’m sorry, but can I ask you for one more favor?”

“What is it?”

“I want to do the blood vessel cauterization too.”

“So, you’re saying you’re going to use the other left hand?”

“Yes. Please trust me. I identified the path to approach the basilar artery first.”

“…….”

“I think it would be better for me to finish it as it is.”

“Hmm…… All right.”

Dong-hoon, who had been contemplating for a while, nodded his head.

He readily handed over the cautery to Jun-hoo.

Entrusting blood vessel cauterization to a first-year?

It would never have happened under normal circumstances, but Jun-hoo’s performance so far made it possible.

“Thank you, Professor.”

Jun-hoo pushed the cautery into the incision without hesitation.

With the amniotic fluid gourd technique [a fictional martial arts technique] he had learned during his internship, the precision of Jun-hoo’s left hand was not inferior to his right hand.

Since he had memorized the path that his right hand had taken, there was no need for his left hand to wander.

Jun-hoo had only come to the modern era.

Only after becoming a surgeon.

He was reborn as a true Flawless Sword.

Soon, the cautery reached the basilar artery like lightning.

It was not difficult to go back to a path he had already taken.

Chiiiiiik.

The microvessels were accurately cauterized without stimulating the cerebellar cortex.

As if a crying child had stopped.

The bleeding from the blood vessels also stopped.

Brain tumor resection resumed after stopping the bleeding of the basilar artery.

The rest of the surgery ended uneventfully in an hour.

The patient was safe and the surgery was a great success.