A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 164

Chapter 30: Courage (4)

“You’ve worked hard.”

Jun-hoo said, removing his hand from Myung-han’s head.

It was fortunate.

Myung-han’s brain tumor was exactly as it appeared on the MRI.

If the surgery went as planned, there shouldn’t be any problems.

“The hard work is all yours, Doctor. If it’s not too much to ask, could you come by and give me a massage sometimes? It’s so refreshing…”

“I don’t see why not.”

A smile appeared on Jun-hoo’s face.

People who received the Pressure Point Acupressure Massage always wanted an encore.

For that reason, Jun-hoo was a massage superstar in the ward.

“Looks like you were working on a song?”

Jun-hoo asked, looking down at the sheet music notebook on Myung-han’s lap.

More than two-thirds of the sheet music was filled with notes and symbols.

Jun-hoo, who didn’t know much about music and wasn’t very interested in it, thought Myung-han’s sheet music looked like a coded document.

Was that bean sprout head with the hollow inside a half note?

“Wouldn’t it be better to get some rest while you’re hospitalized? You still have a headache.”

“I’ve tried, but I can’t. I can’t let go of the music.”

“Still, you should try a little more…”

“Doctor, I’ve been with the piano since kindergarten. I haven’t been apart from it except when I sleep.”

“…”

“It’s not as simple as it sounds.”

Myung-han smiled bitterly.

Looking at Myung-han, Jun-hoo was gradually able to understand him.

Jun-hoo was the same way.

After experiencing the Murim [martial arts world], he never wasted his free time.

He was either practicing martial arts and internal energy, or he was absorbed in accumulating medical knowledge.

People around him worried that he was overdoing it, but he didn’t listen.

Jun-hoo couldn’t stop training.

Because he had to become stronger, treat more patients, faster, and more perfectly.

Just as Myung-han was obsessed with music, Jun-hoo was obsessed with medicine.

When you think about it, Jun-hoo wasn’t qualified to tell Myung-han to rest.

“What does this mean?”

Jun-hoo asked, pointing to the English letters on the sheet music with his index finger.

[Moderato]

“Moderato means to play at a moderate pace, or at a suitable speed.”

“That’s kind of ambiguous. How do you determine the standard for moderate or suitable speed?”

“It’s up to the performer to interpret that. That’s why the performance becomes more diverse and richer.”

Myung-han’s expression brightened, perhaps because the conversation turned to his passion.

His voice also went up half a note to a sharp.

“Sometimes I feel like life is like a giant musical score. It goes up and down like notes, rests like rests, and returns to the beginning like a repeat sign.”

“…”

“Honestly, I’m scared. I’m afraid that my score as a pianist will end here.”

“…”

“I’m nothing without music.”

Myung-han revealed his true feelings before changing the subject.

“Has the surgery date been set?”

“We plan to establish a treatment plan for the professor and the patient this afternoon. The date will be set then. I’ll let you know as soon as it’s set.”

“Even after the surgery… I can still play the piano, right?”

Myung-han’s earnest gaze rested on Jun-hoo.

Myung-han’s brain tumor spanned the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes.

And the area included nerves related to the hand.

If the surgery went wrong, Myung-hoon’s fingers would not be the same as before.

His hands would tremble severely.

His hands could be completely paralyzed.

It was an awake surgery to save the finger nerves.

How painful would it be for Myung-han if he had to give up the piano?

How miserable would he be?

Jun-hoo could fully understand Myung-han’s feelings.

Jun-hoo also experienced severe frustration and despair because he couldn’t do anything for Sung-ho, who was in a coma.

“I’m doing my best, and I’ll continue to do my best. Personally, I’d like to hear the patient’s piano after a full recovery.”

“Yes. Please.”

The heavy conversation ended.

Jun-hoo bowed and was about to leave the hospital room when Myung-han called Jun-hoo again.

“Doctor, just a moment.”

“Is there anything else you want to say…”

“I’m sorry, but how do I lower this? I can’t do it no matter how hard I try.”

Myung-han pointed to the safety bar with a troubled expression.

The safety bar was installed on the left and right sides of the bed to prevent patients from falling.

“If you hold the safety bar, there’s a plastic part. Press there and lower it.”

“Ah. It works. Thank you.”

Myung-han lowered the safety bar following Jun-hoo’s instructions.

“You shouldn’t lower it usually. You can get hurt if you’re not careful.”

“I’m just going to the bathroom for a moment.”

“Okay. Then goodbye.”

Jun-hoo left the private room and headed to the on-call room.

A fool who only knows music.

Certainly, in some ways, Myung-han was very similar to Jun-hoo.

* * *

That day at 4 p.m., conference room.

Chief Chan-young and Jun-hoo.

Dong-hoon, a brain tumor specialist and Associate Professor, were gathered in one place.

The MRI of Myung-han was displayed on the screen installed in the center of the platform.

It was 4cm x 4cm in size.

A fairly large brain tumor was spread across the patient’s frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes.

“As you all know, the patient has a benign meningioma [a type of tumor that arises from the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord]. But the difficulty of the surgery is as bad as malignant.”

Dong-hoon continued.

“The larger the tumor, the greater the risk of nerve damage during the removal process. Frankly, I’ve never seen a case like this before.”

Dong-hoon showed a weak side, unlike usual.

It seemed that he was feeling burdened by this surgery.

“Professor, is there a special reason why you chose awake surgery? Wouldn’t general surgery be easier and safer?”

“There are two reasons.”

Dong-hoon calmly continued his explanation in response to Chan-young’s question.

“In this patient’s case, the boundary between normal tissue and cancer tissue is ambiguous. If you stimulate the nerves by waking up the patient, you can more accurately determine whether the area is normal tissue or cancer tissue.”

“…”

“The second is the patient’s request.”

“What do you mean by the patient’s request…”

“When I saw him in the outpatient clinic, he asked me to save the nerves that use his hands as much as possible. I guess it’s because he’s a pianist.”

In Jun-hoo’s opinion, the patient seemed to need awake surgery.

The secret book passed down by Master Park Jae-hyun.

So, according to the various clinical cases experienced by the master.

Myung-han had to undergo awake surgery.

If you want to save a specific nerve.

You had to clearly identify the location of the patient’s nerve through awake surgery.

This is because the distribution of brain nerves is slightly different for each person.

The distribution of brain nerves related to the hands is wider and more complex in people who use their hands than in ordinary people.

[A person’s life trajectory remains intact in the brain nerves. If you know the brain nerves, you can know the person.]

This was one of the sentences in Master Park Jae-hyun’s awake surgery data book.

Jun-hoo also agreed with the sentence.

“You guys have to be on your toes for this surgery.”

Dong-hoon scanned Chan-young and Jun-hoo with a serious look.

“I guess the chief put a lot of pressure on the professor.”

Jun-hoo, who had been silent, opened his mouth for the first time in a while.

“That guy, he’s quick to notice. Yes, I had a brief interview with the chief before coming to this place. He was in a mood to eat me alive if this surgery failed.”

“If it’s the chief’s personality, he’ll do more than that.”

Jun-hoo replied.

The head of the neurosurgery department was a typical petty person.

He was an individual who was obsessed with his own promotion rather than improving the treatment of the staff.

He was an individual who considered only showing himself well to superiors as a virtue.

There wasn’t even a fingernail’s worth of respect.

“What do you think the chief would have said to me?”

“If you’re okay with it, Professor, can I express it with a voice imitation?”

“As you wish.”

With Dong-hoon’s permission, Jun-hoo lightly cleared his throat.

“Professor Shin. Do you know how important this surgery is? The patient is a world-renowned pianist. If we treat this patient, we can raise the status of our department at once.”

“…”

“Articles will be pouring out and we’ll be on the news.”

“…”

“It’s even awake surgery, not general surgery. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

“But listen. If the surgery fails, there’s no disgrace like this disgrace. Our department’s reputation will plummet.”

“…”

“So, do whatever it takes to make this surgery a success. Failure will not be tolerated.”

“It’s exactly the same as the chief? Kekekekeke.”

“Hahahaha.”

When Jun-hoo’s voice imitation ended, Chan-young and Dong-hoon grabbed their stomachs and giggled.

This was because Jun-hoo copied the chief’s usual way of speaking.

“I shouldn’t laugh, but I can’t stop laughing.”

Dong-hoon chuckled and wiped the tears from his eyes with his fingers.

“But even if we laugh and joke like this now, it will be a huge burden when we actually do the surgery. If the surgery fails, not only me but you guys will be targeted by the chief.”

“That’s too terrible. Professor.”

“There’s nothing we can do. We can’t change the chief’s personality.”

Dong-hoon clicked his tongue at Chan-young’s words.

The friendly atmosphere quickly became heavy.

This awake surgery was particularly difficult and was receiving the full attention of the chief.

“Now, let’s start brain mapping.”

Brain mapping was, as the name suggests, drawing a map on the brain.

It was a task of examining the nerve distribution of each area of the brain before surgery and discussing the extent of tumor resection.

Click.

Dong-hoon moved the mouse cursor to greatly enlarge the brain tumor.

“Considering that the patient is a pianist, we should preserve the nerves related to the ears that listen to music and the arms that play the piano as much as possible.”

“…”

“First of all, the area related to the arms and hands is this part. The primary motor nerve is distributed.”

The color of the mouse pointer changed to a red dot.

The red dot circled the brain tumor that straddled the frontal lobe.

“Then shouldn’t we resect this part?”

Chan-young asked.

“Of course not. Then there’s no point in removing the tumor.”

“But if you resect this part, there may be damage related to the arm, right?”

“That’s a good question. Jun-hoo, what do you think?”

Dong-hoon’s gaze turned to Jun-hoo.

“I need to figure out the details after waking up the patient… but I think it would be okay to remove about two-thirds.”

“The basis?”

“Isn’t the range of nerves that use the arms and hands wider than ordinary people because the patient is a pianist? I took that into account.”

“I have the same opinion as me.”

A satisfied smile appeared on Dong-hoon’s face.

On the other hand, Chan-young tilted his head as if he didn’t understand the current situation.

“What? Jun-hoo, did you study awake surgery separately?”

“Yes. I looked at it in advance.”

Jun-hoo had Master Park Jae-hyun’s secret book.

He had memorized it for the past few months.

At least when it comes to brain tumors.

Jun-hoo had knowledge that rivaled that of most professors.

With the dexterity developed through martial arts.

With the addition of in-depth medical knowledge.

Jun-hoo was transforming into a complete neurosurgeon day by day, even though he was in his first year.

“Really? It must have been hard to manage patients and study for the first year… Then what about the remaining one-third?”

“I think it can be removed with gamma knife surgery [a type of radiation therapy used to treat tumors and other abnormalities in the brain].”

“Ah. That’s right. There was a gamma knife.”

Chan-young clapped his knees.

I thought this guy was only good at assisting with surgery, but now that I see it, he’s even knowledgeable about medicine?

Chan-young was impressed by Jun-hoo’s answer.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t offended by the fact that Jun-hoo knew something that he, the chief, didn’t know.

Everyone on the staff of the medical department now knew that Jun-hoo was unusual.

“But this is just an expected figure. The resection range may be wider or smaller when you actually go into surgery.”

“Yes. Professor.”

“Yes. Professor.”

“Anyway, don’t forget that the key to awake surgery is here. If you touch the normal nerves, the patient’s arm will be paralyzed.”

Dong-hoon’s explanation continued.

Dong-hoon also mentioned the resection range of nerves related to hearing and nerves related to body sensation.

The area could also affect the patient’s piano performance.

As Dong-hoon’s explanation lengthened.

The wrinkles on Jun-hoo’s forehead deepened.

The brain tumor was spread over such a wide area. There was no place that could be easily resected.

Perhaps that’s why.

Jun-hoo felt the brain tumor was a kind of impregnable fortress.

If it were Professor Jae-hyun….

If it were Master….

What judgment would he have made for this patient?

Jun-hoo suddenly wondered what Jae-hyun was thinking.