A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 258

Chapter 49: The Typhoon (3)

It was Jun-hoo’s first time performing cerebral angiography, but he showed off his skillful technique.

His eyes were fixed on the monitor.

His left hand, holding the catheter’s entrance, was firmly fixed, and his right hand pushed the guide wire in smoothly.

Then, injecting the contrast agent.

Rinsing with saline solution.

Flicking the IV line with his finger to prevent air embolism, and so on.

Every process went smoothly.

Not only that.

For the best test results, Jun-hoo reassured the patient and thoroughly controlled them to prevent movement during the procedure.

Surgeons are often compared to conductors.

Despite being a second-year resident, Jun-hoo participated in the entire process of cerebral angiography, showing excellent command skills.

“Isn’t he too good to be true? I’m starting to feel a little inferior,” Min-kyung said, sounding sulky beside him.

“I’ve been learning since last year, but I can’t do as well as you.”

“I think I was just lucky to be born with talent.”

“Well, what other explanation could there be? He performed cerebral anastomosis [surgical connection between two blood vessels] without a microscope.”

Min-kyung was quick to admit it.

Jun-hoo’s performance had been dazzling.

There were two main reasons why Jun-hoo could perform so well.

One was the Manhwa skill.

The other was the Elementary Forgery skill.

Jun-hoo had assisted professors in cerebral angiography about ten times so far.

But he didn’t just blankly stare and do nothing…….

Absolutely not!

Like memorizing martial arts in the Murim world [a world of martial arts heroes and cultivation, often used in Korean fantasy novels], Jun-hoo memorized every detailed movement of the professors.

And he was now unfolding those memorized movements as they were.

In other words, Jun-hoo’s procedure = the professor’s procedure.

‘Now, the most important part is left.’

Jun-hoo focused, fighting off his fading tension.

The guide wire had just entered the posterior communicating artery [an artery in the brain that connects the anterior and posterior cerebral circulation].

The posterior communicating artery was located near the temple.

And it was a place suspected to have a cerebral aneurysm on the CT scan.

“Take a deep breath. Swallow.”

After giving the instructions, he injected the contrast agent into the catheter.

In an instant, gray shimmers gathered in the white cerebral blood vessels in the empty space.

As the contrast agent was injected, the shape and thickness of the cerebral blood vessels became clearer.

In an extremely fleeting moment!

Jun-hoo’s eyes did not miss the posterior communicating artery swelling up like a *kkwari* [꽈리, a type of inflated seed pod, often used metaphorically for something swollen or bulging].

As someone from the Murim world.

Jun-hoo was able to detect the types, directions, and speeds of dozens of hidden weapons flying at him at high speed.

This level of perception couldn’t even be called perception.

‘That’s a relief.’

‘The result is much better than I expected. It can be completely cured with catheter surgery without opening the head.’

A smile appeared on Jun-hoo’s lips.

“It definitely looks like there’s a problem, right? Shall we look at the pictures together?”

On the other hand, Min-kyung was taking the situation seriously, unlike Jun-hoo.

“Sure. Can you show me the picture of the P.C.A (Posterior Communicating Artery) we just took?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

As Jun-hoo gave the order, the scrub nurse quickly displayed the image on the monitor.

Min-kyung’s eyes narrowed at the monitor.

“The cerebral blood vessel near the temple is swollen. It looks like it’s over 25mm in size…… Isn’t that a giant cerebral aneurysm?”

Min-kyung shook her head.

Of course, the larger the cerebral aneurysm, the more difficult the surgery.

The more difficult the surgery.

The more precarious the patient and the more the surgeon suffers.

“No. It looks like 10mm in size to me?”

Jun-hoo replied calmly.

“Huh? 10mm? Are you kidding me? How can that be only 10mm?”

“It’s 10mm, isn’t it?”

“You’re getting a taste for teasing your senior, aren’t you? What does it look like to you, So-hyun?”

Min-kyung asked for the opinion of the scrub nurse, So-hyun.

So-hyun replied like lightning.

“Isn’t it 25mm? Let me check properly.”

Click. Click.

The sound of the mouse clicking was busy.

Soon, the mouse pointer measured the size of the swollen cerebral blood vessel.

The size of the swollen cerebral blood vessel was surprisingly 28mm.

A powerful time bomb was hidden in the patient’s head.

“I saw you didn’t even close your eyes during the procedure…… Are you having visual illusions because your eyes are tired?”

“No. It’s 10mm.”

Jun-hoo insisted on his opinion to the end.

Min-kyung looked at Jun-hoo with a pathetic expression, but he didn’t care.

Min-kyung only knew one thing and didn’t know two.

Jun-hoo knew both.

“Patient, we’re interpreting the image, so please wait a moment.”

“Okay.”

The patient readily agreed.

Jun-hoo began to talk to Min-kyung in a whisper.

“Then, shall we bet on whose word is right? How about the loser buying late-night snacks?”

“The result is already out, so how can we bet? Are you still going to insist that the size of the cerebral blood vessel is 10mm?”

“Think carefully. Would I be doing this without any basis?”

“One is one, not two? Two is two, not three? Three is three, not four. From that perspective…….”

Min-kyung hesitated and continued.

“The cerebral blood vessel is 25mm. I absolutely can’t give in.”

“I’ll also cast my vote for Min-kyung.”

Even So-hyun sided with Min-kyung, but Jun-hoo was not lonely. The truth was on Jun-hoo’s side.

“So-hyun, please replay the video with panorama and slow motion.”

“Will the cerebral blood vessel shrink if you replay the video slowly and continuously?”

“Just watch until the end.”

After a while, the video playback ended.

So-hyun and Min-kyung still had puzzled expressions.

Even after watching the video from A to Z, they couldn’t find anything strange.

This was the difference in physical abilities between the two and Jun-hoo.

It was an insurmountable wall.

“So-hyun, please replay the video and stop when I say stop.”

“Okay.”

“More. More. More. Stop.”

At Jun-hoo’s instruction, So-hyun stopped the video.

Eye-level education for students began.

“You see the blood vessel where the contrast agent is injected now, right?”

“Yes.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But look closely. The blood vessel on the relatively far side, that is, the outer blood vessel, turns gray first.”

“Oh? Really? I didn’t notice it before.”

Min-kyung’s eyes became as big as marbles.

Her head got closer and closer to the monitor.

“Normally, the blood vessel entrance where the contrast agent is injected should turn gray first, and the outer blood vessel should turn gray later. But it’s completely the opposite, right?”

“Now you see it properly.”

Jun-hoo nodded with a satisfied expression.

“The contrast agent couldn’t have teleported, so there’s only one conclusion.”

“Blood vessel overlap.”

“Yes. That’s exactly it.”

A clear conclusion was reached, and Min-kyung and So-hyun nodded in agreement.

To put it simply…….

The cerebral aneurysm in the posterior communicating artery was not 28mm.

The blood vessels were overlapping, making it look bigger. The contrast agent’s absurd movement was the proof.

For example, it was like this.

The contrast agent enters the relatively small B blood vessel first.

The contrast agent enters the relatively large A blood vessel later.

But if you don’t look at the video meticulously.

The two can subtly look like one blood vessel.

“But Jun-hoo.”

“Yes.”

“You matched the blood vessel overlap without even using slow motion or panorama on the video?”

Min-kyung’s eyes, filled with astonishment, stayed on Jun-hoo.

So-hyun’s reaction was similar.

“You can say that. I’m called the Mogen tribe [someone with exceptional eyesight] for a reason.”

Jun-hoo also answered with a bright smile.

He didn’t really like the nickname Mogen tribe…….

But it was very helpful in times like these.

The nickname Mogen tribe was a nickname that could plausibly package the tremendous eyesight he had trained in the Murim world.

“Sigh. I lost. I lost. I’m a fool for even thinking of beating you. So, what do you want to eat for late-night snacks?”

“Hawaiian pizza after a long time. Absolutely no other pizza orders.”

Min-kyung screamed inwardly at Jun-hoo’s order.

Pineapple pizza…….

No~!~!~!

* * *

Jun-hoo’s footsteps were light as he returned to the neurosurgery ward after finishing his first cerebral angiography.

If Jun-hoo’s alias in the Murim world was ‘Flawless Sword,’ it was no exaggeration to say that Jun-hoo’s alias in the hospital was ‘Flawless.’

From his internship until now.

Jun-hoo had never made a single mistake.

It was also thanks to the fact that he was still a second-year resident and his scope of work was narrow.

It was truly an amazing achievement.

‘Catheter procedures are doable.’

‘I want to learn cerebral aneurysm coiling embolization [a minimally invasive procedure to treat brain aneurysms] quickly too.’

Jun-hoo wanted to learn the remaining ten after learning one. Jun-hoo’s desire for medical skills was endless.

Before returning to the ward’s duty room.

Jun-hoo visited the staff lounge.

It was around lunchtime, so the lounge was deserted as if it had been abandoned.

Still, there was a risk of someone else entering in the middle, so Jun-hoo performed meditative breathing without sitting cross-legged.

The fatigue from the Manhwa skill disappeared like snow melting.

It happened in just 20 minutes.

Jun-hoo, who returned to the ward’s duty room, handled the backlog of work.

He also took care of the charting and procedure work of In-cheol, a first-year.

Ring~.

An emergency room call came in in the middle.

The patient injured his back while exercising and was suspected of having lumbar sprain.

Jun-hoo did not go down to the emergency room himself and sent In-cheol instead.

It was a patient that In-cheol could handle sufficiently.

Thanks to his unique work processing ability, the work was quickly exhausted.

Clatter. Clatter.

The rubber human body model and surgical tools came up on the desk.

The setting for suture practice was completed in an instant.

Jun-hoo had no intention of wasting even spare time.

Squeak. Squeak.

Click.

He tightened the suture needle firmly with the needle holder in his right hand.

The suture was nylon 9-0.

There were sutures from 1-0 to 11-0, and the 11-0 suture was the thinnest.

‘It’s time to test it once.’

‘What is my level?’

‘I was able to do 6-0 until the second half of last year, so I should start with 9-0 this time, right?’

Jun-hoo’s eyes, staring at the suture model, were determined.

After performing the Hair Pore Breathing and mastering the Lunar Eclipse Twelve Styles to the 7th level.

Jun-hoo had never tested his limits.

But at his current level, he should be able to handle at least 9-0.

Full-fledged suturing began.

Thump!

The suture needle pierced the wound on the model.

The hair-thin suture passed through the center of the wound in a straight line.

He pulled the suture.

The opened wound closed.

Whirr.

Both hands moved splendidly and gracefully, and a firm knot was created on the wound.

A smile bloomed on Jun-hoo’s lips.

The effects of Hair Pore Breathing and Lunar Eclipse Twelve Styles training were dazzling.

Suturing was definitely easier than before.

In the past, he would have broken the thread in the middle.

Or his hands would have tangled and the thread would have gotten tangled…….

Now, the movement of his fingers, the movement of his wrists, and the movement of his arms were in perfect harmony.

So, more organic and delicate movements were possible than before.

‘Good. Let’s keep going like this!’

Before he knew it, a state of ecstasy covered Jun-hoo.

Feeling a strange sensation as if the surrounding time had stopped, Jun-hoo was solely focused on suturing.

He was drunk on suturing, not alcohol.

風淸月朗 (pung cheong wol rang – clear wind, bright moon) [a phrase describing a serene and beautiful scene].

鏤月裁雲 (nu wol jae un – carving the moon, tailoring the clouds) [a phrase describing exquisite craftsmanship or artistry].

殘月曉星 (jan wol hyo seong – waning moon, morning star) [a phrase describing the beauty of the early morning sky].

Various martial arts principles were added to the hand movements one by one.

Jun-hoo’s suturing was being reborn as an art.

The high-difficulty suturing technique using 9-0 sutures, which could even suture most nerves.

It unfolded as simply as 3-0 suturing, which sutures general scars.

It was a terrifying result created by Jun-hoo’s obsession with becoming a more skilled surgeon as soon as possible.

And wanting to save even one more patient.

“No way. A second-year resident is performing 9-0 suturing? So perfectly?”

“See? I told you I wasn’t ordinary, right?”

Jun-hoo suddenly came to his senses at the unfamiliar voice.

It seemed he had missed the presence of others because he was so focused on suturing.

He turned his head towards the sound.

Two professors with dignified impressions were looking at Jun-hoo beside him.

One of them was familiar.

The other was someone he had never seen before.