A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 292

Chapter 56: The Truth (2)

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, you better shut your mouth now. It’ll make your residency easier. I hate it when residents interfere during my surgeries.”

Hoon-shik’s eyebrows twitched.

His gaze toward Jun-hoo was unfriendly.

Just as he was about to start the surgery, Jun-hoo interrupted him by mentioning something absurd like ‘blindness,’ cutting off the flow of the operation.

It was extremely unpleasant.

Meanwhile, Hye-yeon glanced back and forth between Jun-hoo and Hoon-shik, unable to hide her anxiety.

Jun-hoo’s expression remained calm.

Hot, cold, and lukewarm.

Even in the same space, the three people exuded different auras.

“Could you both please look over here?”

Jun-hoo moved to the patient’s head. He pointed to the headrest of the operating table with his index finger.

“What’s wrong with the operating table?”

“You’re frustrating. Just get to the point.”

“The angle of the headrest is slightly off, isn’t it?”

“What? It doesn’t look abnormal to me? Aren’t you being too sensitive? The patient’s left eye is pressed against the headrest. If this continues, the blood circulation in the patient’s eyeball will stagnate, potentially leading to blindness.”

At Jun-hoo’s explanation, Hoon-shik brought his face closer to the headrest.

Indeed, Jun-hoo was right.

The headrest of the operating table was slightly lower than the normal angle.

But what did that matter?

“The patient’s head is slightly tilted to the left. The head is also slightly forward. The eye must be pressed against the rubber support.”

Jun-hoo’s voice was still full of confidence, which confused Hoon-shik even more.

It was extremely rare for a resident to show this much nerve in front of a professor.

“What do you think, Nurse Shin?”

“I… I’m not sure. If I think it’s okay, it seems okay… but if I think it’s strange, it feels strange.”

“Ugh… how annoying.”

Hoon-shik muttered to himself with a sigh.

If Jun-hoo’s words were true, there was a clear possibility that the patient could go blind.

The head of the operating table had a rubber support.

Those who have had massages would know. At massage parlors, when lying face down, there’s a rubber frame to put your head in.

That rubber frame was also used in operating rooms to fix the head of patients with cervical or lumbar spine issues.

However, if the head was not properly placed in the rubber frame and was pressed against a protruding part for a long time, a major disaster like blindness could certainly occur.

Although such a case had never appeared in Hoon-shik’s medical career.

And it had never appeared in other papers either.

“So, what do you want to do?”

Hoon-shik asked Jun-hoo, almost accusingly.

“Simply lift the patient’s head slightly and position it properly in the rubber support.”

“Lift the patient’s neck during cervical spine surgery? Are you crazy? The bones and muscles are already weakened from the removal of the posterior arch and ligamentum flavum [a ligament in the spine]… you want to lift the patient’s head?”

“Then is there another way?”

Jun-hoo retorted without backing down.

“Should we ignore the risk of the patient going blind? Even if the cervical spine surgery is successful, it’s all for nothing if the patient goes blind.”

“……”

“We’ll get cursed at and even face a medical lawsuit.”

The word ‘lawsuit’ made Hoon-shik flinch. His eyebrows trembled.

“But, Dr. Jun-hoo.”

Hye-yeon, who had been silent, joined the conversation.

“Dr. Jun-hoo, your suggestion is based on the assumption that the patient’s eye is being pressed against the rubber support. If that’s not the case, aren’t we taking an unnecessary risk?”

“It’s not an assumption, it’s a fact. You’ll see when you check.”

“Can we really trust you, Doctor? If we lift the patient’s head and there’s nothing wrong, it’ll be a huge problem.”

Hye-yeon glanced at Hoon-shik.

She was implying that if they couldn’t handle this situation, Jun-hoo might face serious consequences from Hoon-shik.

Jun-hoo nodded instead of answering.

Even if the other staff couldn’t see it, Jun-hoo could see it clearly.

The subtle ‘gap difference’ between the angle of the patient’s head and the rubber support.

In the Murim world [a fictional world of martial arts heroes], what protected Jun-hoo’s life was not the sword, but his eyes.

In other words, his dynamic visual acuity.

If he couldn’t capture the trajectory of the opponent’s sword and the distance between the sword and himself with his eyes, he would have had to travel to the afterlife at any moment.

Thanks to that, Jun-hoo’s eyes were now seeing clearly.

That the patient’s eye was located 1 centimeter above the rubber support.

That the patient’s eye was being pressed against the rubber support.

“Professor. I will lift the patient’s head as carefully as possible. Please adjust the position of the rubber support at that time.”

“Haa… damn it. My day is already ruined. If any problem arises, it’s your fault. And even if there’s no problem, it’s still your fault, got it?”

“I understand.”

“Then do it.”

Finally, Hoon-shik’s permission was granted.

He couldn’t shake off the anxiety and fear caused by ‘blindness.’

Jun-hoo supported the patient’s lower jaw with both hands.

At a turtle’s pace.

He slowly lifted the patient’s jaw.

Perhaps it was thanks to mastering the Eighteen Styles of the Soaring Moon to the 8th level.

Jun-hoo’s hands did not tremble.

His arms were like a mannequin’s, perfectly still.

His precise control of strength prevented him from making the mistake of abruptly lifting the patient’s jaw.

Without damaging the patient’s cervical spine.

It was truly the ultimate in safety.

“……”

As the patient’s blindness and cervical spine depended on each of Jun-hoo’s actions.

The atmosphere in the operating room was heavy and silent.

Hoon-shik and Hye-yeon couldn’t even swallow their saliva easily.

Beep. Beep.

Only the patient monitoring device senselessly made mechanical noises.

With Jun-hoo’s slow movements.

The patient’s head began to tilt backward.

A forehead as wide as a sports field appeared first.

Then came the arched eyebrows.

And finally, the star of the show, the eye, appeared as the third batter.

“Huh… I can’t believe it.”

“The patient’s eye was really pressed down. Amazing, Dr. Jun-hoo.”

Hoon-shik and Hye-yeon exclaimed simultaneously.

Jun-hoo had perfectly noticed the changes in the patient that they and Hoon-shik had missed.

That’s why he confidently asserted his opinion even in front of Hoon-shik.

It was a dazzling performance for a second-year resident.

“Even if I don’t know anything else, I’m second to none when it comes to eyesight.”

“Ahem, ahem. Yes, very well done. The traction technique to lift the patient’s head was also excellent.”

“You’re too kind. Thank you for the compliment, Professor.”

“But don’t get too cocky. You’re still young and have a lot to learn.”

He tried to say it as calmly as possible, but Hoon-shik felt like he had aged ten years.

If Jun-hoo hadn’t pointed it out.

The patient’s head would have remained in the same position.

And the result would have been a tragedy of the patient’s blindness.

He already had two surgeries with lawsuits from patients, and he almost had another headache.

It was a great relief.

“By the way, who prepared the surgery today?”

“I believe it was the intern.”

“What’s the intern’s name?”

“Hyung-jin.”

“So, this whole mess happened because that Hyung-jin didn’t properly secure the operating table?”

Hoon-shik’s eyebrows shot up like mountains.

“It seems he made a mistake because he was so busy. Wouldn’t it be better for the professor to generously forgive him?”

“Forgive? The patient almost went blind, and you’re talking about forgiveness?”

Hoon-shik had a fit at the word ‘forgiveness’ mentioned by Jun-hoo.

“After this surgery, tell the intern to come to me as soon as possible. I need to give him a stern scolding.”

“But Professor, Hyung-jin also…”

“Shut your mouth. I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

Jun-hoo clicked his tongue at Hoon-shik’s firm statement.

Hoon-shik was completely blind to his own faults.

Who was the one who was 30 minutes late for the surgery?

Who was the one who passed half of the surgery he was supposed to perform to Jun-hoo?

If Hoon-shik had deliberately committed a bad deed, Hyung-jin had only made a mistake due to a momentary lapse in concentration during his relentless intern training.

When it came to the weight of responsibility…

Hoon-shik’s was several dozen times heavier.

Yet, he overlooked his own actions and only blamed Hyung-jin…

Hoon-shik’s character was no different from filth.

“Let’s continue the surgery. We still have the posterior cervical fusion and fixation to do.”

“Yes, Professor.”

The rest of the surgery proceeded under Hoon-shik’s guidance.

Currently, the patient’s cervical spine was highly unstable due to the removal of the posterior arch and ligamentum flavum.

Therefore, it was necessary to fix the cervical spine with metal plates and screws.

“Drill.”

A medical drill was placed in Hoon-shik’s hand.

Wee-ing. Wee-ing.

The drill rotated with a loud noise.

He began to drill a hole in the left side of the patient’s cervical vertebra 4.

Bone fragments were ground into fine particles like slush, and Jun-hoo sucked them up with the suction device.

After a while…

A rectangular hole was created in the area of cervical vertebrae 4-5.

Hoon-shik placed a metal plate over the rectangular hole.

He inserted medical screws into the metal plate.

Drrrrt.

The screw rotated 360 degrees and was driven deep into the bone.

Cervical fusion and fixation may sound easy when you only hear about it, but this surgery was actually very difficult.

It was like the pinnacle of cervical spine surgery.

However, Hoon-shik’s surgical skills were not up to par in Jun-hoo’s eyes.

He couldn’t even keep up with half of the professors he had assisted in Seoul.

His wrist trembled unstably when using the drill.

The angle of the screws inserted into the metal plate was crooked, and he often had to remove and re-insert the screws he had painstakingly inserted.

Sweat droplets had already formed on Hoon-shik’s forehead as he performed the surgery.

Was it because he was prone to sweating?

Or was it because the surgery was too difficult for him?

Jun-hoo thought it was the latter.

Surgeons can be broadly classified into four categories, and Hoon-shik was by far the worst.

-A surgeon with a terrible personality and poor surgical skills.

Jun-hoo assisted Hoon-shik with a precarious feeling, like watching a child near the water.

Frankly, he felt like he could do a better job than Hoon-shik even if he performed the cervical spine surgery himself.

That’s how terrible Hoon-shik was.

He only had the authority of a professor.

The skills of a professor were missing.

Jun-hoo had made up for the 30 minutes of surgery time that Hoon-shik had wasted by being 30 minutes late.

Hoon-shik wasted another 30 minutes.

Fortunately, the surgery was successfully(?) completed after many twists and turns.

Zhiiiing.

After leaving the operating room, Hoon-shik put his arm around Jun-hoo’s shoulder in a friendly manner.

“Jun-hoo, I really like you. I want you to assist me in my surgeries often from now on. I’ll make you an expert in cervical and lumbar spine surgery.”

Jun-hoo didn’t know what to say, so he smiled awkwardly.

*What is he saying? What a moron.*