A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 305

Chapter 58: Golf (5)

‘Wow… seriously…’

Namgung Hyuk clicked his tongue, watching Jun-hoo’s posterior fornix resection.

He was so dumbfounded that he was speechless.

Even when he entered the operating room, his expectations for Jun-hoo were at rock bottom.

What could he expect from a second-year resident?

He was just hoping he could keep up with the assist role.

But what was this?

From the start of the assist, Jun-hoo showed a different side.

Like telepathy, without specifically telling him what to do, he found what needed to be done and did it flawlessly.

When bleeding occurred, he used suction or a hemostatic gauze to stop the bleeding.

He widened the surgical field with a Richardson retractor.

And the irrigation was perfect.

Jun-hoo showed a maturity like a second-year fellow rather than a second-year resident.

And the highlight was the posterior fornix resection he had just finished.

The posterior fornix resection using both hands was an unprecedented skill.

In fact, there were quite a few surgeons who used both hands, but very few used both hands as freely as Jun-hoo.

“Wow… that’s amazing. The cut surface of the posterior fornix is the same on both sides. Doesn’t that mean his left and right hands moved completely identically?”

Yun-gi blurted out what Namgung Hyuk wanted to say.

Yoon-gi was shaking his head, looking at Jun-hoo.

It wasn’t a shake of disgust, but a shake of admiration.

“Jun-hoo, you’ve far exceeded my expectations. The quality of the surgery goes without saying…”

Namgung Hyuk looked at the clock on the operating room wall and continued.

“The surgery time was also about three times faster than average.”

“You flatter me. There is still much to learn and much to master.”

“You’re humble, aren’t you…”

Namgung Hyuk liked Jun-hoo.

The more the rice ripens, the more it bows its head; but the better people do, the more they tend to hold their heads high.

But Jun-hoo didn’t have that arrogance.

He deserved a passing grade in character.

“Then let’s remove the hematoma first.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“#10 blade.”

Namgung Hyuk received the scalpel from the scrub nurse.

The scalpel was aimed at the anterior spinal artery between the 2nd and 3rd lumbar vertebrae.

There was a dark red spot in the middle of the two blood vessels extending to the left from the artery.

It was a hematoma [a solid swelling of clotted blood within the tissues] that remained hardened after bleeding.

The sharp tip of the scalpel cut the surface of the hematoma in a cross shape.

A thin stream of blood leaked from the incision.

At this, Jun-hoo immediately sucked up the flowing blood and the reduced hematoma with a suction device.

Screech!

Namgung Hyuk neatly removed the remaining hematoma in the same way.

Now, the hematoma would no longer compress the nerves, and the hematoma, detached from its original location, would no longer travel through the spinal blood vessels and cause thrombosis [blood clot] by blocking the blood vessels.

It was like putting out a fire that had fallen on his feet.

‘Let’s see.’

Namgung Hyuk brought his eyes close to the microscope and examined the problematic arteriovenous malformation [an abnormal connection between arteries and veins] located on the side of the lumbar spine.

The capillaries [tiny blood vessels] located on the 2nd and 3rd lumbar vertebrae were like a tangled skein of thread.

The size, visually confirmed, was approximately 4 centimeters.

The tangled blood vessels, difficult to grasp at a glance, were deeply in contact with the nerves.

From the patient’s point of view, it was fortunate that the vascular malformation was discovered now.

If more time had passed, the patient would have suffered greater pain from paraplegia [paralysis of the legs and lower body] or urinary dysfunction.

“Professor, shall we ligate [tie off] the artery and vein with a mosquito first?”

“Let’s do that.”

Click!

Click!

Jun-hoo locked the uppermost and lowermost parts of the malformed blood vessel with a vascular clamp.

He blocked the blood flow before removing the blood vessel.

It was trivial, but the ligation location was excellent. It was where Namgung Hyuk had marked in advance.

“Argon beam (electrocautery) [a device used to stop bleeding by heating tissue].”

Namgung Hyuk held a pen-like electrocautery in his hand.

His eyes were glued to the microscope.

The spinal arteriovenous malformation surgery was the same as the brain arteriovenous malformation surgery.

It was to remove the abnormally grown capillaries as a whole.

The patient’s relatively young age.

The condition of the malformed spinal arteriovenous.

Considering these two factors, sufficient effect could be expected with surgical removal alone.

Namgung Hyuk resected [surgically removed] the artery that supplied blood to the capillaries first, according to the textbook.

Screech.

The high-frequency blade sharply cut off a part of the lumbar artery.

The blood already pooled in the blood vessel filled the space near the lumbar spine in red.

The fishy smell of blood stimulated the sense of smell.

Then Jun-hoo stepped in.

He immediately suctioned the pool of blood with both hands, which had become his trademark.

The follow-up was also meticulous.

He resected the hemostatic agent [a substance that stops bleeding] solution in a syringe and shot it around the blood vessels.

Namgung Hyuk was confident that this surgery was difficult, but there would be no failure.

* * *

Four hours after the start of the surgery.

The emergency spinal arteriovenous malformation surgery was successfully completed.

‘This is a real surgeon.’

Jun-hoo nodded slightly, watching Namgung Hyuk suture the patient’s back skin.

Namgung Hyuk was a surgeon full of responsibility.

Even though he came to help neurosurgery, he passionately performed the surgery on the patient as if they were his own.

What if the chief surgeon was Hoon-shik?

He would have only removed the spinal arteriovenous malformation and left the operating room immediately, although he didn’t know if that was really possible.

He would have regarded skin sutures as miscellaneous work and passed it on to Jun-hoo.

But Namgung Hyuk was different.

He was tying up the beginning and end of the chief surgeon himself.

Even if Jun-hoo said he would do the skin sutures, he refused.

Also, Namgung Hyuk was a skilled surgeon.

A master recognizes a master.

Namgung Hyuk’s treatment was precise and neat at the same time.

The skill of using a scalpel or electrocautery.

The technique of fixing blood vessel tissue with forceps.

Even the other aftercare was perfect.

So, he even felt like he had reunited with the warriors of the Namgung family in Murim [a fictional martial arts world].

‘Now I need to start working.’

Grit.

Jun-hoo suddenly gritted his teeth.

His thoughts shifted from surgery to Hoon-shik.

The culprit of all this was Hoon-shik.

Hoon-shik, who had no skills and no sense of responsibility, abandoned his duty and left.

Hoon-shik was cancer in the Daejeon neurosurgery department.

If Hoon-shik was left unattended, the bleak future of the Daejeon department was obvious.

Click!

Even while thinking about other things, Jun-hoo mechanically cut the last suture knot made by Namgung Hyuk with scissors.

Jun-hoo was using Manhwagong [a state of heightened focus and awareness].

In the state of using Manhwagong, he could concentrate on every sense and thought.

“Everyone worked hard.”

“You worked hard.”

“You worked hard.”

When Jun-hoo took the lead, Yun-gi and the scrub nurse followed Jun-hoo.

Because the surgery was perfect.

It was good to expect that the postoperative progress would also be perfect.

Thanks to this, Jun-hoo’s body and mind felt light as if he was flying.

“Everyone worked hard. And Jun-hoo, you must have had a particularly hard time. I would have been devastated when I heard that Professor Hong was away.”

“It’s okay. Thanks to you, I met the professor and learned a lot about surgery.”

Jun-hoo smiled with his eyes.

It wasn’t just empty words.

While assisting with the surgery, Jun-hoo remembered Namgung Hyuk’s surgical techniques and tips as forms and left them in his head.

He had secretly grown once again so that he could take it out at any time.

Buzzing.

The operating room door opened and fresh air rushed in.

Jun-hoo first threw the surgery gown soaked in blood and sweat into the medical waste box next to the operating room.

The surgical cap and surgical gloves followed.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

Namgung Hyuk tilted his head, feeling Jun-hoo’s gaze.

“Before entering the operating room, I heard that the professor was like a tiger. But…”

“But?”

“You don’t look like a tiger at all.”

Jun-hoo barely held back his laughter at Namgung Hyuk’s unexpected appearance.

Namgung Hyuk had a round face and chubby cheeks. His body was also in the shape of a generous jar.

His skin was fair and smooth to the point where it was hard to see him as his age.

Looking only at his appearance, a baby pig would be more suitable than a tiger.

“This guy… you’re not thinking about that animal, are you?”

“I don’t know what it is, but I don’t think so.”

“Okay. I’m sure it’s not. No. It has to be not.”

Namgung Hyuk laughed and accepted Jun-hoo’s joke.

The staff left the operating room in a friendly atmosphere.

The intern who arrives later will move the patient to the neurosurgery ward.

“Doctor. Did the surgery go well? Is my child safe?”

The patient’s mother recognized Jun-hoo and jumped up from her seat and approached Jun-hoo.

The moment he faced her, something hot surged from Jun-hoo’s chest.

There was no way Jun-hoo wouldn’t know that urgent feeling.

Jun-hoo also had the feeling of waiting for his mother’s surgery.

At that time, he was in pain and agony, thinking about all sorts of things that might happen to his mother.

“Professor…”

Jun-hoo couldn’t finish his words as he looked at Namgung Hyuk.

Namgung Hyuk nodded to Jun-hoo, and the meaning was clear. He entrusted Jun-hoo with the post-operative notification.

After all, Jun-hoo was the one who faced the guardian from the beginning.

“The surgery went well. Your son is safe. He will recover quickly if he recovers in the intensive care unit.”

“Doctor. Thank you so much. And I’m sorry in the emergency room.”

The guardian continued with a tearful voice.

“I didn’t want to ignore the doctor, but my son was having a hard time, but I was so frustrated because the treatment wasn’t refreshing.”

“It’s stranger to be sane when your son is sick. I’m really okay. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you. Doctor.”

The guardian finally burst into tears.

The frail shoulders trembled and tears like dew fell from the reddened eyes.

Jun-hoo lightly hugged the guardian.

He patted her shoulder.

It was fortunate that her tears were not tears of despair but tears of joy.

It was fortunate that the patient was safe despite all the hardships.

And Jun-hoo was fortunate that he didn’t regret choosing the path of a surgeon.

* * *

Basement 1st floor cafe.

Namgung Hyuk was facing Si-deok, who had rushed to the hospital despite being on vacation.

While Namgung Hyuk explained the past surgery process, Si-deok nodded and occasionally only made a silent sound.

Si-deok’s expression was not very bright.

“So, you can say that 70% of saving the patient was Jun-hoo. That young man is amazing.”

“…….”

“As you know, spinal arteriovenous malformation is a rare disease. It’s not easy to diagnose. But Jun-hoo did it.”

“…….”

“His assisting skills are also amazing. I thought he was a second-year fellow, not a second-year resident. If he wasn’t under you, I would have taken him a long time ago.”

Namgung Hyuk praised Jun-hoo as if he were his own child.

He poured out a large amount of praise to the point where his mouth was dry and he had to drink a drink.

But what can I do?

Jun-hoo’s performance was so amazing and dazzling.

What’s even more surprising is that the stories so far are pure facts without exaggeration.

“I knew he was an unusual child, but… I didn’t know it would be this much. Is this the first time I’ve ever heard you praise a resident?”

“That’s because he deserves it. You’ll know soon if you do surgery with Jun-hoo.”

“Okay. I’ll have to make a place soon.”

“By the way, what are you going to do with Professor Hong in the future? Are you just going to be taken advantage of?”

Namgung Hyuk turned the topic to Hong Hoon-shik.

The former head of neurosurgery and the current power in neurosurgery.

As the name of Associate Professor Hoon-shik was mentioned, wrinkles appeared on Si-deok’s forehead.