A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 160

Chapter 29: Mission (5)

Arriving at the emergency room, Jun-hoo went straight to the nursing station.

He asked the nurse for the name and bed number of the neurosurgery patient.

After getting the information, Jun-hoo typed into the computer.

According to the emergency room’s initial medical record:

The patient’s name was Jang Byung-soo.

He was 55 years old and had injured his back when he fell from a chair while changing a light bulb at home.

An X-ray of his lumbar region showed a fracture in the 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebrae.

Jun-hoo couldn’t hide his disappointment at this common injury pattern in the elderly.

If the patient were younger, the probability of such an injury would be lower.

“Aren’t you a back patient doctor? What brings you down here?” Hye-in, a nurse he’d recently become acquainted with, asked Jun-hoo.

Hye-in had only been working in the emergency room for a month.

“It’s our turn to see patients today.”

“Huh? There’s a rotation for treatment?”

“Orthopedics and neurosurgery alternate in treating back and neck patients.”

“Really? I had no idea! I thought orthopedics always handled back patients,” Hye-in said, blinking in surprise.

Neurosurgery and orthopedics both treated overlapping areas concerning the back and neck.

This is because the back and neck are made of bone, and nerves pass through them. In the past, there was fierce tension between the two departments over back and neck ailments.

They fought over who would perform disc surgeries, among other things.

However, these days, that rivalry was fading.

They recognized each other’s expertise and took turns treating back and neck patients every other day.

Today, back and neck patients were neurosurgery’s responsibility.

“You probably didn’t know. I’ll get going. Good work.”

“Yes. You too, doctor.”

Jun-hoo finished his conversation with Hye-in and headed to the patient’s bed.

The emergency room was as busy and bustling as ever.

Every bed was occupied.

The sounds of patients groaning and arguing with the staff filled the air.

Not far away, the staff was desperately performing CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation].

Anyone wondering what chaos looks like should visit a university hospital emergency room.

When Jun-hoo reached his target bed, the patient was lying flat, groaning and clutching his back. Beads of sweat dotted his face.

The guardian, who appeared to be his wife, was pacing back and forth, looking worried.

“I’m Seo Jun-hoo from neurosurgery, and I’m in charge of your treatment.”

“Yes, hello,” the guardian replied. The patient nodded after looking at Jun-hoo.

“I heard you slipped on a chair and fell on your back. How’s the pain?”

“It’s hard, but I can bear it,” the patient said, biting his lip.

“Can you describe the pain?”

“It feels like I’m being stabbed with a knife. My legs feel a little numb, too.”

“Have you ever been diagnosed with a herniated disc?”

“My back isn’t great, but I’ve never been diagnosed.”

“He’s so oblivious to his body! He hardly ever goes to the hospital, and he doesn’t even take cold medicine when he has a cold,” the guardian said, sounding frustrated.

“Do I have a disc?”

“When back pain radiates down the legs, it’s called radiating pain. If you have that, a disc issue is suspected.”

“People around me say I shouldn’t get back surgery…”

The patient looked sullen.

The public perception of herniated disc surgery wasn’t good.

There were misunderstandings, such as the back getting worse after surgery or needing repeated surgeries.

This was largely due to unnecessary surgeries performed at some spinal clinics, driven by greed.

They often pushed surgery on patients who didn’t need it, leading to poor outcomes.

“You have to get it if you need it. Surgery isn’t always bad.”

“That’s enough. If I’m going to need surgery, just give me painkillers and send me home. I’ll get better if I take a steam bath and rest.”

“Doctors and hospitals aren’t useless. Please trust us a little more.”

“It’s not that they’re useless, they’re just there to make money. I don’t need it.”

The patient consistently refused treatment and diagnosis, displaying a strong distrust of hospitals and overconfidence in his own health.

From Jun-hoo’s perspective, he was a difficult patient to deal with.

However, Jun-hoo couldn’t give up on him.

Even when the patient gives up on himself, a doctor shouldn’t give up.

At least, that’s what Jun-hoo believed a doctor should be.

“Patient, would you mind lying face down for a moment?”

“Okay.”

At Jun-hoo’s instruction, the patient readily lay face down, groaning again.

Pulling up the patient’s shirt, Jun-hoo examined his back.

“Oh my!”

I almost made a big mistake!

Jun-hoo barely stopped himself from pressing on the patient’s back.

He had been planning to use pain-relieving pressure points, but it seemed best to avoid them with this patient.

*See? My back got better again after resting a little. Anyway, those doctors…*

He could imagine the patient reacting that way.

Jun-hoo skipped the pressure points and placed his palm on the patient’s back.

Drawing internal energy [qi or prana] from his dantian [energy center] to his palm, he channeled it toward the patient’s back.

*Woo woong woong.*

*Woo woong woong.*

A resonance that only Jun-hoo could hear spread out.

Jun-hoo thoroughly examined the fractured lumbar vertebrae with his internal energy.

He suspected the patient would refuse a CT scan or MRI.

Even if he agreed, he wanted to accurately assess the patient’s condition beforehand.

Soon, the internal energy passed through the skin and flowed into the 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebrae.

The energy spread out like gentle waves, embracing the disc, nucleus pulposus [the soft, gel-like center of the disc], annulus fibrosus [the tough outer ring of the disc], nerve roots, and spinal cord.

The examination using internal energy was almost omnipotent.

Sometimes it acted like a CT scan, sometimes like an MRI, and sometimes like an ultrasound.

The only tests internal energy couldn’t replicate were blood tests, urine tests, electrocardiograms [ECG or EKG], and electroencephalograms [EEG].

Jun-hoo, now more proficient in handling internal energy than he had been in the Murim world [martial arts world], quickly assessed the patient’s back condition.

“Is it done now?”

“Yes, it’s done. Lie flat.”

At the patient’s urging, Jun-hoo removed his palm from the patient’s back.

Jun-hoo’s expression darkened rapidly.

* * *

“Ouch, ouch, ouch,” Byung-soo groaned, looking at the ceiling again.

To be honest, his back hurt a lot.

It was the worst pain he’d ever felt.

But Byung-soo didn’t want back surgery or anything like that.

Hadn’t he lived a healthy life without relying on hospitals since his 20s?

The young doctor was scaring him with talk of discs, but he was sure he’d get better soon with rest.

Humans inherently had the ability to heal themselves.

Byung-soo quietly scanned the emergency room.

Pure white ceiling and walls, doctors and nurses moving busily.

Byung-soo believed that hospitals created diseases that didn’t exist and exaggerated existing ones.

“Patient, I think you should get an MRI first,” the young doctor said solemnly.

“Didn’t I already have a test? Why do I have to do it again?”

“That was an X-ray, the most basic test. A more accurate test is needed.”

“Isn’t an MRI expensive?”

“It’s far more expensive than an X-ray, but considering your back health, it’s a worthwhile investment.”

“What if the test shows nothing wrong?”

“I guarantee that won’t happen.”

The doctor’s answer was firmer than before, as if he already knew the results.

*This young man already knows how to make money.*

“But you don’t want to get tested, do you?”

“You know me well.”

“Then, would you like to get up and walk for a moment?”

“Why?”

“Because you have to walk home.”

“Oh? You’re going to let me go easily? You’re surprisingly reasonable.”

Byung-soo smiled and carefully sat up, trying not to strain his back.

Then he put his feet on the floor.

But the moment he put his weight on them, his back throbbed.

It felt like a knife was stabbing him.

“Ugh.”

The doctor supported Byung-soo, who was staggering.

He wanted to shake off the support, but he couldn’t.

Not only his back, but his legs were also severely numb.

If the doctor hadn’t supported him, Byung-soo would have collapsed.

“Oh my! Honey, are you okay?”

“It’s… it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Byung-soo said, trying to appear strong.

“It’s something, and I am worried! There’s a limit to being stubborn.”

“Doctor, are you making fun of me now?”

“Did I say anything wrong? Why are you trying to leave the hospital with just painkillers when you can’t even walk?”

“Because I don’t trust the hospital. I think I’ll get better if I rest.”

“Old man,” the doctor said quietly, making eye contact with Byung-soo.

The doctor’s eyes, which had been friendly, had changed completely.

They were like those of a wild beast, as if he wanted to devour Byung-soo.

Byung-soo realized how quickly a person’s demeanor could change.

“Do you think I’m wearing this doctor’s gown and doing all this just to scare you?”

“No, well, it’s not like that… Anyway, I don’t like surgery.”

Even while scared, Byung-soo said what he wanted to say.

“Okay, let’s make a bet. If you win, I’ll prescribe painkillers and discharge you. If you lose, you get surgery without complaint. How about it?”

“What kind of bet is it?”

“It’s simple. Go to the bathroom with me and pee. If you pee, you win.”

Byung-soo clicked his tongue.

*What kind of ridiculous bet is that? I only win if I pee?*

Byung-soo even questioned the doctor’s sanity.

“Are you kidding me?”

“I don’t joke about your health.”

“Okay, I accept. But don’t change your mind later.”

“You either.”

With the doctor’s support, Byung-soo left the emergency room and looked for a bathroom.

He stood in front of the toilet.

Because Byung-soo couldn’t stand straight, the doctor supported his back from behind.

*This is the worst bet of my life, but who cares? As long as I can get discharged without arguing.*

*Ugh!*

Byung-soo tried to pee by straining his lower abdomen.

It had been a while since he last went, so his bladder felt full.

But nothing happened.

It was like a tightly locked faucet.

Byung-soo’s cheeks flushed.

“I… I’m too nervous with the doctor behind me. It’s not coming out.”

“Then let’s go into the stall. The result won’t change.” Again with the doctor’s support, Byung-soo entered the stall.

When the door closed, he had privacy.

Now, there was no way he could fail.

*Ugh!*

Byung-soo strained again and again.

But the damn urine wouldn’t come out.

*This shouldn’t be happening! I have to let the doctor outside hear the sound of urine!*

Byung-soo wrestled with his bladder for ten minutes, but he completely failed.

The urine didn’t come out.

*Thump!*

Byung-soo opened the door with a mix of depression and surprise.

“Doctor, what the hell is going on?”