A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 386

Chapter 75: Ready (1)

Hector smiled confidently, pulling something out of his doctor’s coat pocket.

It was a thin, white tube in Hector’s hand.

It resembled a smaller, thinner version of the tourniquet [a rubber band used to restrict blood flow, often for blood draws].

Several trainees stared at the tube, wondering what it was for.

“This is an artificial blood vessel.”

Hector stretched the artificial blood vessel from side to side as he continued speaking.

The blood vessel stretched long and elastically.

“It’s a newly developed artificial blood vessel specifically for cerebral vessels, so many of you may not be familiar with its form.”

“…….”

“My surgical method involves cutting the shared cerebral artery of the twins and creating a new blood vessel using this artificial blood vessel.”

A clean explanation with nothing to add or subtract.

The trainees gazed at Hector with admiration. Some nodded vigorously.

‘Why? Why on earth…’

Hector was anxious but didn’t show it. He met Austin’s eyes, but Austin remained indifferent, without any particular reaction.

His expression was blank.

Hector had explained his ingenious surgical method!

Could it be that his method was wrong?

Or was Austin deliberately holding back praise?

So, Hector made a preemptive move.

“Chairman.”

“Yes?”

“I would like to hear your opinion on my surgical method.”

“Let’s hear Jun-ho’s presentation first. Jun-ho, come to the podium.”

Hector, having finished his presentation, stepped down from the podium, and Jun-ho, who had to present, went up to the podium.

As they passed each other.

Hector cast a look of pity towards Jun-ho.

He had struggled so hard all this time, but.

Nothing would have changed.

In this competition, time to prepare, experience, medical knowledge, none of it was on Jun-ho’s side.

All that remained for Jun-ho was to sink.

* * *

“Ahem.”

Jun-ho, standing on the podium, cleared his throat. He felt burdened by the gazes of the staff pouring in on him.

After all, it was his first time presenting an original surgical method.

After getting a clue for the surgery from watching Maxwell eat a Twinkie.

Jun-ho had repeated research after research with a bleeding heart.

Just as finding the destination was important.

Finding a way to reach the destination was also difficult and important.

After spending the whole night, Jun-ho barely managed to create a fairly plausible surgical method.

Hopefully, the chairman and other staff members would also find this surgical method plausible….

“My surgical method is a bit more complex than Professor Hector’s.”

Jun-ho moved the blackboard and grabbed a board pen.

He drew a line (一) on the blackboard.

What theory would Jun-ho present to counter Hector? The staff members listening to the presentation had curiosity in their eyes.

“I also agree with Professor Hector on the step of cutting the cerebral artery shared by the twins.”

Jun-ho moved his hand again.

He erased the middle of the line with a blackboard eraser and drew two arrows (↰,↳).

It was a drawing that emphasized that the severed blood vessels would be separated.

And this was the part….

That Jun-ho got a hint from Maxwell.

Jun-ho had not thought before that he should cut the blood vessel in half, just like Maxwell cut the Twinkie in half.

At that time, he was obsessed with the idea that he had to connect the blood vessels somehow.

“However, I will not use artificial blood vessels. I will only use the existing blood vessels that the children have.”

“That’s nonsense!”

Hector retorted as if he had been waiting for it.

A voice raised by an octave echoed through the conference room.

“The severed middle cerebral artery is too short to connect to other blood vessels. Do you know why I used an artificial blood vessel?”

“…….”

“Because it’s not restricted by length.”

“Professor. It’s my presentation time. Please don’t interrupt? And shouldn’t you at least make a rebuttal after the presentation is over?”

Jun-ho warned Hector in a scolding tone.

Hector frowned as if he was displeased, but he kept his mouth shut.

The tension between the two was sharp.

“I will harvest the patient’s radial artery [forearm artery].”

“…….”

“If the radial artery is anastomosed [surgically connected] to the middle cerebral artery, the length of the blood vessel will increase, right? The goal of the surgery is to reconnect the lengthened middle cerebral artery to the Circle of Willis [a network of arteries at the base of the brain].”

Jun-ho finished his presentation.

However, unlike Hector’s presentation, the reaction after the presentation was cold. The staff members were saying with their bodies, not their mouths.

Is that really possible?

Is he going to turn the surgery into a fantasy?

An atmosphere of disbelief and doubt began to expand in the conference room.

‘I guess it’s hard to accept?’

A bitter smile appeared on Jun-ho’s lips.

Although he was the developer of the surgery.

Jun-ho knew very well that his surgery could seem like a utopian fantasy.

The patient was a 3-year-old child.

The underdeveloped cerebral blood vessels were still thin and delicate.

If an adult’s cerebral artery is a branch of a tree, a child’s cerebral artery is a twig.

It was so fragile that it was easily damaged.

He didn’t know when and how a rupture or bleeding might occur while anastomosing the blood vessels.

“Jun-ho. Let me ask you just one thing.”

Austin, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“Yes. Chairman.”

“Have you checked the width and length of the radial artery and the middle cerebral artery?”

“Yes. I’ve matched them all using CT scans. The widths of the two blood vessels are almost the same. I also calculated that if I harvest about 5 centimeters of the radial artery, it can reach the Circle of Willis.”

Jun-ho answered like lightning.

Austin nodded without saying anything.

Jun-ho returned to his original seat.

Now, the staff’s attention was focused on Austin.

The success of today’s presentation depended on whose side Austin took.

Perhaps that’s why.

Jun-ho and Hector were like boxers who had finished a boxing match.

The conference room was like a square ring.

And Austin was like a referee.

Austin, who had been silent for a long time, finally raised one person’s hand.

* * *

After the morning conference, the staff began to scatter.

“Chairman. This doesn’t make sense, does it?”

Hector strode up to Austin, who was heading to the chairman’s office.

Hector’s face was flushed red.

Even his earlobes were tinged with red.

“Why did you take Jun-ho’s side? Isn’t my surgical method superior and safer by anyone’s standards?”

Hector said, breathing heavily through his nose.

Surprisingly, the winner of the presentation was Jun-ho. Jun-ho had surpassed Hector, who was a professor.

At the time of Austin’s result announcement.

The staff were shocked, and Hector was even more shocked.

This was impossible.

It could only be seen as Austin forcibly pushing him away.

“To suture a 3-year-old child’s cerebral artery with their own blood vessel. Anyone can say that.”

Hector continued to speak rapidly.

“What are you going to do if the blood vessel bursts while suturing? There’s no replacement blood vessel, is there?”

“…….”

“If you use an artificial blood vessel, you can replace it as much as you want even if the blood vessel bursts.”

“Listen, Hector.”

Austin said in a subdued voice.

“Yes. Chairman.”

“You keep singing about artificial blood vessels, artificial blood vessels, but are artificial blood vessels really that safe?”

Hector was taken aback by Austin’s sharp criticism.

In fact, artificial blood vessels were not a panacea [a solution for all difficulties].

It might be different in the fields of thoracic surgery or gastroenterological surgery, but in neurosurgery, safety verification had not yet been completed.

Thrombus formation [blood clot formation].

Unstable blood flow rate.

For these and other reasons, opinions were divided on artificial blood vessels.

“Originally, there’s no such thing as a 100 percent safe surgery, is there?”

Hector countered, trying to control his embarrassment.

“The safety of using artificial blood vessels. And the safety of using autologous [from the same individual] blood vessels.”

“…….”

“When comparing the two, the safety of the former is overwhelming.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You can’t deviate from my expectations even by a speck of dust.”

Austin shook his head from side to side with a displeased expression.

But Hector was just as displeased with Austin.

In Hector’s eyes, it seemed that Austin was simply favoring Jun-ho.

If Austin’s purpose was.

To piss Hector off, then the purpose was as good as achieved.

“Let me change the question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Artificial blood vessels are a kind of constant. The advantages and disadvantages have defined limits. Am I wrong?”

“No. You’re right.”

Hector nodded.

Wondering what Austin was trying to say.

“But autologous blood vessels have many variables. Of course, the surgical risk is high, but the result you can get when you succeed is much greater.”

“…….”

“A surgeon, you know. You have to grow your skills. You have to increase your capabilities and increase the expected value of the latter.”

“But you should avoid risks as much as possible….”

Hector couldn’t finish his sentence as he tried to provide a basis.

Austin cut Hector off in the middle of his sentence.

“Of course, there are times when you have to avoid risks. But this case is originally a dangerous case. We took on a surgery that other hospitals all rejected.”

“…….”

“I wanted to teach you how to fight when you have to fight through this surgery.”

“…….”

“How?”

“…….”

“Through Jun-ho, who has the opposite personality to you.”

After listening to the explanation.

Hector seemed to vaguely understand what Austin was trying to say.

He seemed to know what method he used to give some enlightenment.

Although he didn’t realize it clearly enough to describe it, he would be able to fully understand Austin’s intentions once his thoughts were organized.

“Do you still think I’m taking Jun-ho’s side?”

Austin changed the subject.

“Isn’t that right? You said you wanted to teach me through Jun-ho.”

“That statement is half right and half wrong. Check your email once.”

Austin left after saying what he had to say.

Hector stared blankly at Austin’s back, then belatedly checked his email on his phone.

It was an email sent an hour ago.

It seemed to have been sent by reservation.

‘Why did you suddenly send me an email? You could have said it just now if you had something to say?’

Hector tilted his head and checked the email.

He carefully examined the file attached to the email.

The file was a summary of the twin surgery that Austin had prepared.

While reading the file.

The wrinkles on Hector’s forehead only increased.

“Ha…….”

After finishing the frantic reading, Hector let out a sigh of admiration.

So, the surgery that Austin had in mind and the surgery that Jun-ho had in mind were exactly the same.

In a situation where he couldn’t even rely on a paper.

It meant that Jun-ho had found the same path as Austin, who was an authority in pediatric neurosurgery.

It was truly an amazing thought process.

Because of Jun-ho, Hector even felt ashamed of himself.

What have I been training all this time?

That wasn’t all.

As Austin said, Austin wasn’t simply taking Jun-ho’s side.

Austin had already sent the email before Jun-ho presented the twin separation surgery.

So, the reason Austin chose Jun-ho’s surgical method was not because he liked Jun-ho.

It was because Jun-ho’s conclusion was the same as the conclusion he had reached.

Hector ruffled his hair with one hand.

He muttered with a bitter expression.

“This is a complete defeat for both the chairman and Jun-ho.”