A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 239

Chapter 45: Miracle in Room 4 (4)

With the use of Manhwa Gong [a technique that enhances focus and multitasking], Jun-hoo felt invincible.

Despite the overwhelming task, he tackled it with remarkable skill.

Holding blood vessels with forceps.

Passing surgical tools.

Managing the surgical site.

Adjusting the fine microscope’s dial.

The greatest strength of Manhwa Gong was its inexhaustible concentration and the ability to handle different tasks simultaneously.

He remembered his final battle with Jeok Il-do in the Murim world [a world of martial arts experts].

Manhwa Gong was the martial art that led Jun-hoo, who was on the verge of defeat, to victory.

In other words, to Jun-hoo, Manhwa Gong was…

A martial art of victory.

Jun-hoo using Manhwa Gong was a clear sign that the current situation was critical and urgent.

His right hand held the blood vessel with forceps.

His eyes were focused on the fine microscope when…

Jun-hoo’s brow furrowed, and his face tightened.

The microscope lens showed signs of blurring.

This was already the fifth time.

The cycle was getting shorter and shorter.

Drrrrk.

Jun-hoo turned the automatic magnification dial, and the view cleared up again.

No way, could it be?

A fine microscope breaking down? That’s impossible!

‘I’ve never seen a case like that in Jaehyun Master’s thesis,’ he thought.

He tried to reassure himself, but an ominous feeling spread like wildfire.

Jun-hoo had a bad feeling.

Was that why?

Even the fact that the operating room was number 4 began to feel unsettling.

To regain his composure, Jun-hoo bit his lip tightly.

The sharp pain pushed away his worries and anxieties.

“Saline spray.”

Jun-hoo held a spray bottle filled with saline in his left hand and sprayed it on the blood vessels being anastomosed [reconnected].

Chik! Chik! Chik!

This was to prevent the blood vessels from tearing if they dried out.

The saline-soaked blood vessels began to glisten.

While assisting with the surgery in every way possible,

Jun-hoo was also training at the same time.

He was meticulously recording Min-seok’s blood vessel anastomosis procedure from start to finish, step by step.

Currently, Min-seok was using a 9-0 nylon suture [an extremely fine suture thread].

A 9-0 suture was almost twice as thin as a strand of hair.

Its elasticity was remarkable.

It was also a suture that surgeons found difficult to tie.

The angle and direction of inserting the suture needle into the blood vessel.

The flick of the wrist.

The tension of the suture transmitted to the blood vessel.

(If the suture is tightened too much, the blood vessel narrows, and if it is too loose, the knot comes undone. It’s the same principle as tying shoelaces.)

A gapless and firm knot.

Consistent intervals between knots, etc.

While codifying Min-seok’s microvascular anastomosis, Jun-hoo couldn’t help but admire it.

A professor was indeed a professor.

No matter how skilled Jun-hoo was in Murim techniques,

He couldn’t perform the suture as perfectly as Min-seok right away.

He was more confident in using a scalpel than Min-seok, but his suturing skills were lacking.

The reason why Jun-hoo was desperately learning Howol Sibisae [a specific suturing technique] recently was precisely because of that.

It was to improve his suturing skills, which he felt were inadequate.

Oh! That was dangerous just now!

‘It looks like you misjudged the force?’

Jun-hoo brushed his startled chest.

While Min-seok was piercing the blood vessel with the suture needle,

He almost tore the blood vessel.

Since the blood vessels of children were so thin and delicate, even a moment’s carelessness could end the surgery in failure.

“Professor, how about taking a break?”

Jun-hoo suggested after the fourth anastomosis was completed.

“Hoo~ That would be good. I’m starting to get tired.”

Min-seok sighed and put down the surgical instruments. Min-seok’s arm was trembling slightly.

“Anesthesiologist, how’s the patient’s vitals?”

Cheol-woo asked, staring at the curtain slightly away from the operating table.

“The vitals are still fine. Oxygen saturation is also good. The blood pressure only went up slightly and then went down 10 minutes ago.”

“Please notify me immediately if there are any special issues.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“The patient’s intracranial pressure is also normal. It’s maintaining at 5 mmHg, and no special waves have been observed in the electroencephalogram.”

Jun-hoo also notified.

Intracranial pressure and electroencephalogram were outside the scope of the anesthesiologist’s notification.

“Wow! You’re even monitoring the patient’s brain condition in the meantime?”

Cheol-woo asked in admiration.

“Of course, I have to do it. The two of you are doing such important surgery.”

“You’re totally doing the work of three people. We would have been in big trouble without you.”

“Yes, Jun-hoo is doing a great job. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

Min-seok also joined the praise.

Thanks to Jun-hoo handling multiple tasks alone, Min-seok was able to concentrate solely on the surgery.

And this was a huge blessing.

Because high-difficulty surgery ends the moment concentration breaks down.

“Professor, may I ask about the progress of the surgery?”

Jun-hoo changed the subject, feeling awkward about the praise.

“Hmm… I’d say it’s about 70 percent done. It’s an end-to-end anastomosis [connecting the ends of two blood vessels], so it will take quite a while.”

“You’re amazing. The surgery is difficult, and there are people here to observe, so you must feel pressured.”

“A surgeon has to endure this much.”

“Professor, shall we continue the surgery?”

“No. Let’s rest a little longer.”

Min-seok shook his head at Cheol-woo’s suggestion.

Watching the exhausted Min-seok, Jun-hoo felt sorry.

He was sewing up a child’s cerebral blood vessels.

How much mental and physical energy would it take to sew with sutures that were twice as thin as a strand of hair?

He wanted to relieve Min-seok’s fatigue with Chugung Gwahyul massage [a massage technique to restore energy], but…

That was impossible.

The operating room strictly prohibited physical contact due to infection and contamination.

‘This won’t do.’

‘I’ll have to use some trick.’

Jun-hoo used forceps to grab a gauze from the gauze container and held it in his right hand.

Then he moved to the operating table across from him.

“Jun-hoo, what are you doing?”

Min-seok stared at Jun-hoo with a puzzled expression.

“I’m going to wipe off your sweat.”

“Huh? I’m not sweating much?”

“Still, you might get some sweat while you’re operating.”

Making a natural excuse.

Jun-hoo wiped Min-seok’s left temple with the gauze.

But this was just bait!

Pat! Pat! Pat!

While wiping away the sweat, Jun-hoo pressed down on Taeyanghyeol, Gokbinhyeol, Hyeonrohyeol, and Hyeonrihyeol [acupressure points near the temple] near Min-seok’s temple with his index finger.

He didn’t forget to infuse internal energy while applying acupressure.

“Are you daring to press my head?”

Min-seok misunderstood Jun-hoo’s acupressure.

He felt Jun-hoo’s actions were rude.

“Of course not. I’m wiping away your sweat and doing acupressure at the same time.”

“…”

“If I do the right side as well, you’ll understand why I’m doing this.”

Jun-hoo persistently did the same thing to Min-seok’s right temple.

Pat! Pat! Pat!

A proper Chugung Gwahyul massage was impossible in the operating room.

So he performed acupressure on the pressure points in an abbreviated form.

The success or failure of this surgery depended on Min-seok.

So if he wanted to save Jae-eun,

Jun-hoo had to bring Min-seok’s condition to its best.

“How do you feel now?”

Jun-hoo asked Min-seok after wiping away the sweat.

Min-seok replied with a blissful expression.

“My head feels clear as if I had a good night’s sleep? What happened?”

* * *

The effect of acupressure was amazing and immediate.

The head, which had been heavy as if a stone was inside, became lighter.

The dead concentration came back to life, and he felt refreshed.

It felt like his condition had returned to two hours before the surgery.

“I learned acupressure a while ago.”

“It’s quite effective for someone who only learned a little? Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I don’t need to rest anymore.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad it helped.”

Jun-hoo threw the gauze into the curved basin and returned to his seat.

Min-seok stared intently at Jun-hoo as he returned.

‘Could there be another first-year resident like this in the world?’

A first-year resident who assists like three people and even takes care of the attending physician’s condition with acupressure.

In that sense, choosing Jun-hoo as an assistant was a stroke of luck.

“Okay, let’s start the surgery right away. 9-0 nylon.”

The scrub nurse handed over the suture with the suture needle attached.

Kkigigik!

Ttak! (Click!)

Min-seok tightened the suture needle with the needle holder and resumed the blood vessel anastomosis.

Since his condition had improved, the suturing proceeded smoothly and rapidly.

He pierced the superficial temporal artery and middle cerebral artery blood vessels one after another with the suture needle.

Pulling the suture appropriately.

Creating the optimal tension.

Tying the knot with brilliant hand movements.

Tuk! (Thud!)

When the knot was completed, Cheol-woo cut off the remaining thread with a number 11 blade.

Cheol-woo was doing his part as the first assistant 200 percent, even though he was overshadowed by Jun-hoo’s performance.

He was just grateful.

Jun-hoo’s assistance was still amazing.

He held the blood vessels stably.

Most of all, he immediately corrected the view whenever the broken fine microscope became blurry.

The attending physician and two assistants were practically in perfect harmony.

At this point, it was impossible for the surgery to fail.

The fact that people from the association came to observe turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

If the surgery is successful, it’s a matter of course that this surgery will be published in the journal.

‘I’m getting closer to becoming an associate professor, surpassing Professor Shin.’

As the surgery headed towards its finale,

Min-seok’s heart began to pound with excitement.

Just three more stitches left!

Just three more stitches and a dazzling spotlight awaited Min-seok.

But it was at that moment.

Just as he was about to push the suture needle into the blood vessel again!

The view was plunged into deep darkness.

“Heut!”

Min-seok swallowed his surprised breath and withdrew the suture needle.

He almost put the suture needle in the already sewn spot.

“Seo Jun-hoo! Manage the microscope properly! That could have been a disaster just now.”

“Hey, why are you doing this at the last minute when you were doing so well?”

Min-seok and Cheol-woo took their eyes off the fine microscope and stared at Jun-hoo.

Their voices were rough because it was a moment when the surgery could have failed.

“That’s…”

Jun-hoo sighed so deeply that the ground seemed to sink. His mask fluttered.

“It’s not my fault.”

“Then whose fault is it? Is it the fault of Cheol-woo and me, who were anastomosing the blood vessels?”

Min-seok questioned.

“The fault lies with the fine microscope. It seems the microscope is broken.”

“What? Broken?”

“Yes. It’s completely out of order. It’s not being fixed even if I turn the automatic magnification dial.”

Min-seok couldn’t believe the news Jun-hoo delivered.

A fine microscope breaking down.

Min-seok had never experienced this before.

He had never heard of a surgeon who had the same experience.

“…”

Min-seok brought his eyes close to the fine microscope again.

All he could see was darkness.

Drrrrk.

He turned the automatic magnification dial again, but it was no use.

There was no change.

The anxiety that was slowly rising.

Goosebumps began to appear on his forearms.

“Professor. I think the microscope is really broken. None of the buttons are working?”

Cheol-woo stared at Min-seok with a bewildered expression.

But Min-seok was just as clueless.

Min-seok was a surgeon.

Not a biomedical engineer who repairs, maintains, and develops fine microscopes.

“At least turn it off and on.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Jun-hoo turned the fine microscope off and on.

Unfortunately, the fine microscope remained broken.

“Damn it! How am I supposed to do surgery without a fine microscope! I can’t… I can’t keep up with the magnification!”

Min-seok shouted as if in despair.

And he looked down at the patient’s brain with his naked eyes without a fine microscope.

It was hard to even distinguish what the cerebral blood vessels being sutured were.

It was impossible to catch up with the fine microscope’s 25x magnification with human eyesight.

“…”

“…”

As the fine microscope broke down, the atmosphere in the operating room instantly cooled down.

The air became heavy like a lead weight.

“Just three more stitches left. Just three more stitches…”

Min-seok muttered in a despairing voice.

Like the view of the fine microscope.

The future of the surgery and the future of the patient were also pitch black.