A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 177

Thump. Thump. Thump.

In the sterilization sink, Jun-hoo was scrubbing in [preparing for surgery with a thorough hand-washing].

A rough-textured disinfectant brush vigorously scrubbed his fingers, arms, and forearms.

It even caused eczema.

Jun-hoo’s scrubbing was still rough.

You could never overemphasize the importance of preventing infection.

While scrubbing.

Jun-hoo replayed today’s awakening surgery process.

It was a task he had done nearly thirty times since waking up today.

Of course, it was a tedious and boring task.

No one likes repetition.

But Jun-hoo had learned the virtues of repetition and mastery in the Murim [a martial arts world] .

He knew that something engraved in the body and bones never disappears.

“Your scrubbing expression is quite fierce. Anyone would think you’re a killer, not a doctor.”

At the playful voice, he turned his head.

Si-ho was approaching from the locker room.

Unlike Jun-hoo, he seemed to be on his way out after finishing surgery.

Jun-hoo tensed up slightly at Si-ho’s appearance.

A three-year senior who recently returned from the branch office.

A senior who had a patient die in surgery just before returning, and almost completely destroyed a patient’s spine with an emergency spinal condition in the surgery immediately after.

Jun-hoo sensed something dangerous from Si-ho.

“When you think about it, there’s only a fine line between killers and doctors. Doctors who lack skill, only care about money, or enjoy causing pain to patients should be considered killers.”

“I guess you could say that.”

“Which are you, senior, a doctor or a killer?”

“Isn’t that a very rude question?”

“I’m sorry. I guess my joke was too much.”

Jun-hoo readily apologized.

He subtly tested him, but it didn’t work.

“You’re preparing for the awakening surgery now, right?”

“Yes.”

“You must feel a lot of pressure. I heard Director Kwak is also attending.”

“It’s not a one- or two-day thing, so I have to take it in stride.”

“Do you like fortune-telling?”

“Fortune-telling all of a sudden? I don’t believe in that kind of thing.”

“I don’t believe in it either. Let’s just look at it for fun. For fun.”

Si-ho asked for Jun-hoo’s date of birth and checked Jun-hoo’s zodiac fortune on his phone.

Then, he came behind Jun-hoo and whispered in his ear.

“You must break free from illusions. If you don’t, you may suffer from the reality right in front of you, it says?”

“…….”

“I wonder what kind of illusions you have, Jun-hoo.”

“I don’t have any illusions. I just want to protect the health of patients and the happiness of their guardians as a surgeon.”

“Maybe that’s an illusion. A sense of justice that’s not quite right.”

Si-ho’s continued whispers wrapped around Jun-hoo’s ear like a snake.

It felt sticky and dark.

Could this be Si-ho’s plan?

To shake my mental state before surgery?

If all of this was intentional, Si-ho might be a gaslighting villain.

“I’ll be on my way now.”

“Okay. Good luck and have a good one.”

Si-ho smiled brightly like a child and waved to Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo found that even more eerie.

After parting ways with Si-ho, Jun-hoo came out of the washroom and headed to the operating room.

With the help of the scrub nurse, he put on a surgical cap, surgical gloves, a mask, gloves, and loupes [magnifying glasses].

It was like being fully armed for war. Only then did he realize that the surgery was just around the corner.

Whirr.

Whoosh.

The door to operating room number 3 opened, and disinfectant gas was sprayed from the ceiling.

Jun-hoo entered the operating room, taking the white smoke all over his body.

When he inhaled, the pungent smell of disinfectant stung his nose.

The cold air brushed against his skin.

To prevent infection, the operating room was maintained at 20-23 degrees Celsius. If the temperature was high, bacteria would easily multiply.

Like a stage with the lights on.

The operating table where the patient was lying was particularly bright. It was because of the shadowless lamp hanging from the ceiling.

“Do-wook, how far along are you with the surgery preparations?”

Jun-hoo asked Do-wook, a neurosurgery intern who was just coming out of the supply room.

“I’ve secured the central venous catheter. The surgical tools and equipment setup are almost finished.”

“Then let’s do it together. I’ll help you.”

“You don’t have to…….”

“What’s impossible in Korea?” [A common saying implying that anything is possible with the right connections or effort].

Jun-hoo joked and helped Do-wook with the surgery preparations, and then the anesthesiologist entered the operating room.

The anesthesiologist prepared the injection and injected the anesthetic into the patient’s central venous catheter.

It would be fentanyl and propofol.

In the past, awakening surgery was performed under local anesthesia because anesthetic drugs and techniques were not well developed.

Since the brain doesn’t feel pain.

Only the scalp was anesthetized and the surgery was performed.

In other words, the patient experienced the entire beginning and end of the surgery.

But now things have changed.

General anesthesia has become possible to protect the patient’s mental health.

And the patient can be awakened when desired.

They could also be put back to sleep when desired.

“Doctor, please shave the head a little. I need to anesthetize the scalp.”

“Okay.”

At the anesthesiologist’s call, Jun-hoo headed to the operating table.

He held the razor blade that was on the dressing cart.

Ganghoyeonpa [Torrential Wave], Sanmyeong Surae [Life-Snatching Whirlwind], Pungwangmyeongmi [Wind King’s Cry].

Using the 5th to 7th forms of the Cheongpung Sword Technique [Clear Wind Sword Technique], Jun-hoo neatly shaved the patient’s head.

The movement of the razor blade, containing the principles of the sword technique, was dazzling and graceful.

There was no excess.

As Jun-hoo laid the razor blade horizontally and drew it upwards, the patient’s bangs fell down in droves.

Hair from other areas was also cut off mercilessly like weeds being mowed.

Rustle.

Rustle.

In just one minute, the patient’s head became greenish like a monk’s head.

“Wow, you’re the first doctor I’ve ever seen who shaves heads so well.”

The anesthesiologist, who was watching Jun-hoo, clicked his tongue.

“Did you learn hair styling before?”

“No. Of course not.”

“If you master the technique, you could open a barbershop later.”

Jun-hoo chuckled at the anesthesiologist’s words.

Following a masseur, a hair designer…….

It wouldn’t happen, but even if he quit being a doctor, it seemed like there were plenty of jobs to do.

After disinfecting the patient’s freshly shaved head.

The anesthesiologist injected a local anesthetic into the patient’s scalp.

Then he returned to the anesthesia room behind the curtain.

“Do-wook. Are you all set?”

“Yes. Senior. This is the end.”

Do-wook answered, pulling another dressing cart.

“You must be busy, so quickly insert the Foley (urinary catheter, urine bag) and go.”

“Oh, right. Senior. Why did you tell me to insert the Foley after the anesthesia?”

“The patient is very sensitive. If he had shown his genitals while he was fully conscious, he would have had a mental breakdown.”

“Ah, I see. But I have another question…….”

“Ask me anything.”

“Why is this patient having a Foley inserted? I don’t think it’s necessary.”

Do-wook asked, tilting his head. It was a question that Jun-hoo had once been curious about.

“Neurosurgery uses diuretics (medications that help you urinate) to reduce brain pressure.”

“…….”

“The cerebrospinal fluid that accumulates due to increased brain pressure is also a type of bodily fluid. We remove it through urine. Then the brain pressure decreases.”

“Ah…… So, if you administer a diuretic without a Foley, the operating table would be full of the smell of urine.”

“That’s right. There’s also the risk of infection.”

“Thank you for the answer. You’re a walking encyclopedia, Senior.”

After hearing the desired answer, Do-wook inserted the Foley into the patient.

Do-wook, who is recognized as an A-turn [a highly skilled individual], inserted the Foley in one go without failure.

The catheter did not enter the wrong area.

After Do-wook left.

Jun-hoo quietly looked down at the patient.

Hoses connected to the central venous catheter.

IV hoses connected to the patient monitoring device.

The Foley catheter that was just inserted, and so on.

The patient seemed to be extending his life with hoses.

The patient’s already pale face looked like wax because of the shadowless lamp.

Jun-hoo’s gaze did not leave the patient for a long time.

It was a little annoying that he hid his panic disorder, but when you think about it, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

It meant that the patient wanted the awakening surgery that much.

It meant that he wanted to return to the world of piano.

Everyone has something precious they want to protect.

Jun-hoo was also ready to do anything to protect his precious things.

And in some ways, Jun-hoo and Myung-han were very similar.

Myung-han was single-minded about the piano.

Jun-hoo was single-minded about medicine.

Just as Myung-han couldn’t imagine a life without the piano.

Jun-hoo couldn’t imagine a life without medicine either.

So maybe…….

You could think of Myung-han as Jun-hoo who became a pianist.

I promise.

I will do my best to help you regain your life as a pianist.

I will never give up on you for a single moment.

So please overcome it well too.

This surgery is something we have to overcome together.

As Jun-hoo was steeling himself.

Whirr.

The door to the operating room opened, and the chief surgeon Dong-hoon, chief resident Chan-young, and the scrub nurse entered.

The main characters of the unscripted drama were all gathered in one place.

No one knew the end of the story that would unfold.

* * *

Since the surgery preparations were complete, the staff stood in their respective positions in an orderly manner.

The chief surgeon Dong-hoon stood on the right side closest to the operating table.

The scrub nurse stood by Dong-hoon’s side.

Next to the scrub nurse was a dressing cart with surgical tools neatly arranged.

Opposite Dong-hoon was the first assistant, Chan-young.

Next to Chan-young was the second assistant, Jun-hoo.

Before the full-scale surgery, Dong-hoon looked up at the observation operating room located on the second floor opposite.

As promised, Jae-hyun was in the observation operating room.

Director Kwak had a pre-scheduled surgery schedule, so it seemed that the observation would be delayed.

Dong-hoon was both nervous and reassured by the observation of the best neurosurgeon in Korea.

He was nervous because he was afraid of showing his poor side.

He was reassured because he thought he could ask Jae-hyun for advice if an unexpected situation occurred.

After withdrawing his gaze from Jae-hyun.

Dong-hoon scanned the staff who were working together on the surgery.

They were people he wouldn’t trade for the world.

“Then, we will now begin the awakening surgery for the meningioma [a type of brain tumor].”

Dong-hoon’s voice spread softly.

The first person to step forward was Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo disinfected the patient’s head and covered it with a surgical drape.

After the disinfectant dried, Jun-hoo drew a circle on the patient’s head with a pen and also drew a horizontal line through the circle.

He had marked the skin incision and traction range in advance.

Without using a ruler or compass, Jun-hoo’s markings were perfect.

The circle was the circle itself.

The horizontal line was the horizontal line itself.

How can he have no hand tremors and such precise hand movements?

Looking only at the treatments related to the hands, Jun-hoo already looked like a complete surgeon.

“10 blade.”

With the scalpel he received from the scrub nurse.

Dong-hoon made a 3-centimeter-long horizontal incision in the patient’s right temporal region.

His hand was as light as a feather.

On days like this, Dong-hoon had never failed a surgery.

He had a good feeling today.

With the help of the assistants, Dong-hoon opened the patient’s head.

First, he incised the scalp and periosteum [membrane covering the bone].

When the incision was finished, Jun-hoo showed off his fantastic traction skills as usual.

As Jun-hoo widened the incision up and down with the retractor, the surgical field was as clear as a plain.

“Burr hole setting. Drill.”

A medical drill was placed in Dong-hoon’s hand.

Whirr. Whirr.

As he drilled a hole in the skull with the drill, pure white bone fragments scattered in all directions.

After drilling a total of 4 holes in the skull.

When he used the craniotome [a surgical instrument for cutting the skull], the patient’s skull was completely exposed.

Dong-hoon sequentially resected the dura mater [outermost membrane covering the brain], arachnoid membrane [middle membrane covering the brain], and pia mater [innermost membrane covering the brain] with an ultrasonic aspirator.

It was something he did as routinely as eating, so there were no mistakes. The nerves and blood vessels avoided Dong-hoon’s hand on their own.

Dong-hoon’s senses were already good.

The assistance of chief resident Chan-young and Jun-hoo was fantastic.

The two helped Dong-hoon in every way.

Securing the surgical field.

Inserting an ICP (intracranial pressure monitoring device) [a device that measures pressure inside the skull].

Adjusting the magnification of the microscope.

When bleeding occurred, they used bleeding gauze or suction like lightning, and so on.

Thanks to that.

Dong-hoon felt like he had six arms.

He’s especially determined today?

I can look forward to it.

Dong-hoon focused especially on Jun-hoo’s assistance, and Jun-hoo’s performance was exceptional from the beginning.

Using both hands freely.

He helped Dong-hoon with one hand and Chan-young with the other.

He did not forget to update the changed brain structure with the navigator.

If there are too many hands in the surgical area, the surgery may become cluttered or the hands may block the surgical field.

Jun-hoo avoided this like a loach [a type of fish known for its slipperiness].

He had already learned how to breathe with his colleagues while showing off his skills.

Who would think this child is a first-year resident?

After about an hour of work.

The preliminary work for tumor removal was completed.

As the patient’s head was completely opened.

The walnut-shaped brain was revealed. Dong-hoon stared at the anesthesiologist behind the anesthesia room curtain.

“Doctor. Please inject the awakening induction agent.”

The awakening surgery was about to begin.