A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 476

Chapter 93: Seizing Control (2)

The morning conference ended with a bang.

The staff lined up in the hallway like a military unit.

‘Our chief is really bold. Publicly humiliating Professor Choi like that.’

‘Isn’t power scary? He trained at the Mayo Clinic and became chief, and now he’s acting like he owns the place.’

‘We can’t let this go. We need to do something.’

Jun-hyuk deliberately stood away from the professors, straining his ears.

He amplified his hearing with internal energy, vividly hearing the other professors badmouthing him.

The professors were completely unaware that they were essentially broadcasting live in front of Jun-hyuk.

‘Thank you. For making a hit list for me.’

Jun-hyuk chuckled to himself.

He remembered the faces and names of the professors who had just belittled him.

Still, not all the professors disliked Jun-hyuk.

Some professors didn’t say a word about Jun-hyuk.

They talked about patients or had lively conversations about recent medical issues.

The ratio was about 7:3.

The former could be seen as the anti-Jun-hyuk faction, and the latter as the neutral faction.

Even if he absorbed the latter, he wouldn’t be able to gain a majority, so there was only one conclusion.

Destroy the anti-Jun-hyuk faction.

Time passed, and the formation was complete.

Jun-hyuk stood at the front, followed by the professors, then the fellows, and finally the residents, all lined up.

In fact, doctors were just as hierarchical and obedient as soldiers.

Step. Step.

As Jun-hyuk walked, the staff followed behind him.

Only the intern walked in front of Jun-hyuk.

“That’s enough. Dr. Kim, go to the back.”

“I need to open the door to the patient’s room for you.”

“I have hands, you know?”

Jun-hyuk pointed behind him with his index finger.

As Jun-hyuk repeatedly urged, the intern moved behind Jun-hyuk.

It was a moment of relief.

[Traditionally, the intern leads the way and opens the door to the room for rounds.]

Jun-hyuk had always found this deeply rooted rounding culture disgusting. It wasn’t like a king’s procession, so what if the chief opened the door to the patient’s room?

It was wrong to give such unnecessary authority to these underlings.

Creak.

The door to the patient’s room opened, and Jun-hyuk and the staff rushed into the room.

The patient and their guardian were waiting in a fairly formal manner. The head nurse was also waiting.

“Hello, doctor.”

“Chief. It’s an honor to meet you. You look much younger in person.”

The head nurse smiled brightly.

If Jun-hyuk was in charge of the department, the head nurse was in charge of the ward nurses.

It was too early to judge based on first impressions, but she seemed like a good person.

“You’re too kind, head nurse. It’ll take me a long time to catch up to you.”

“You’re good at making people feel good.”

After the conversation.

The official rounds began.

This time, called morning rounds, was mainly when the chief personally visited the patient’s room and talked with the patient and their guardian.

It was a very valuable time because he could directly face the patient he had seen in the printouts and check their condition.

And he could build rapport with the patient and guardian.

Jun-hyuk’s rounds had a very simple rule.

Listen to the patient and guardian as much as possible, rather than talking a lot himself.

Isn’t it human nature to feel sad when you’re sick?

And when you’re sad, you tend to talk a lot.

After smoothly finishing the first room, Jun-hyuk entered the second room.

Jun-hyuk stood in front of a bed.

The patient’s name, who was sitting with his back against the bed’s backrest, was Ahn Byeong-tae.

He was 55 years old.

He had been hospitalized for a traumatic lumbar disc and had surgery a few days ago.

Next to the patient sat a guardian who appeared to be his daughter.

Jun-hyuk’s eyes, scanning the patient and guardian, flashed sharply.

The fight with Choi Jin-gu during the morning conference was just child’s play, as a bigger battle awaited Jun-hyuk.

Should I tighten the discipline?

* * *

“How are you feeling, patient?”

Jun-hyuk asked kindly.

“My back hurts a lot. I thought I would feel better right after the surgery.”

The patient kept hitting his back with his fist. His face was full of annoyance and dissatisfaction.

“Can’t you increase my pain medication?”

“Patient, how are you taking your medication?”

“I’m taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and muscle relaxants. I’m also getting high-frequency heat therapy once a day.”

The intern notified with lightning speed.

“You’re still in pain even after taking the medication…….”

Jun-hyuk stroked his chin and continued.

“Who is Ahn Byeong-tae’s attending surgeon?”

Jun-hyuk deliberately asked, even though he knew the identity of the person in question.

He had 미리 파악해 두었던 것이다 [already grasped] all the information about Ahn Byeong-tae in advance when briefing on the hospitalized patients.

“It’s me.”

Choi Jin-gu, who had argued with Jun-hyuk earlier, replied in a sulky voice.

“If the patient’s condition has worsened after the surgery, isn’t there a problem with the surgery?”

“I don’t know if the chief knows anything about spinal surgery.”

Jun-hyuk scoffed at Choi Jin-gu’s provocation.

Who was Jun-hyuk?

A subspecialty in neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic, so…….

Cerebrovascular part.

Brain tumor part.

Stereotactic neurosurgery part.

Spine and cervical spine part.

Pediatric neurosurgery part.

Trauma surgery part.

Hand surgery part.

Wasn’t he the best in the Korean neurosurgery field, having conquered seven subspecialties with top honors?

To dare to discuss spinal surgery with such a Jun-hyuk…….

It was like a puppy not knowing the fear of a tiger.

“I think you have a bad memory, but I’m the one who did Yena’s spinal surgery, right?”

“……I see. Anyway, the surgery went well. Don’t just pick on me.”

The second clash between Jun-hyuk and Choi Jin-gu.

It was practically a fight, except they didn’t throw punches.

A fight for the pride of a surgeon.

“Patient. The condition doesn’t improve immediately after the surgery. I understand your difficulties, but it’s an unavoidable situation. Your back will gradually get better.”

Choi Jin-gu said to the patient in a soothing tone. The patient and guardian nodded obediently.

Watching that, something hot like lava surged from Jun-hyuk’s chest.

If he didn’t know his mistake, that itself was a big problem.

If he knew his mistake but was trying to cover it up, it was a situation where he had to add a charge of disrespect.

Was he going to let this go like this?

However, depending on how you interpret it, the current situation could be said to be smiling on Jun-hyuk.

Because he had a golden opportunity to crush Choi Jin-gu in a public setting.

“The patient is satisfied, so are you satisfied now?”

Choi Jin-gu looked at Jun-hyuk and smiled confidently.

Jun-hyuk smiled back.

But that smile was clearly a sneer.

“No, I’m not satisfied. Not at all.”

* * *

The professors began to stir at Jun-hyuk’s words.

Their eyes shook 불안하게 [unsettled], and their hands were 잡혔 [covered] with cold sweat.

An anxious and tense air swept through the ward.

The powder keg between Jun-hyuk and Choi Jin-gu, who had been bickering, finally exploded.

Jun-hyuk had challenged the completeness of Choi Jin-gu’s surgery.

This was nothing short of a declaration of war.

It was taboo in this field to criticize another surgeon’s surgery.

‘So he was a fighting cock. Surprisingly easy to deal with?’

Associate Professor Kim Han-sang, who had been watching the fight.

He was practically the power broker of the department, and he smirked.

Kim Han-sang, a veteran, knew Jun-hyuk’s intentions well.

The chief’s position was taken by parachute [given to an outsider].

He doesn’t want to bow down to the older and more experienced professors.

Well, I don’t know.

I’ll just have to suppress them with a power struggle from the beginning of my tenure.

He must have this kind of thinking.

The actions Jun-hyuk had shown so far were the most important evidence.

But this was an action that only knew one thing and not the other.

If you want to attack someone.

It’s not enough to just find fault.

You have to find the other person’s weakness and cut off their breath.

Would Jun-hyuk be able to do that?

Kim Han-sang thought it was absolutely impossible.

“There are other patients and guardians, and the head nurse in the ward, isn’t this too much?”

Choi Jin-gu frowned.

“If something is wrong, we have to fix it right away. No matter who is around.”

“Ha…… Then let’s hear what’s wrong.”

“Shouldn’t you both calm down? This isn’t the place to fight…….”

One of the professors 끼어들었다 [intervened] between the two.

But after receiving Jun-hyuk and Choi Jin-gu’s fierce glares, he shut his mouth.

기호지세(騎虎之勢) [riding a tiger; unable to stop once started].

Like riding a tiger.

The situation could not be stopped now.

“Let me tell you the conclusion first. The patient has failed back surgery syndrome. He needs additional surgery.”

Jun-hyuk said as if declaring.

Failed back surgery syndrome.

This referred to a condition in which the patient complained of pain because the fundamental area that compressed the nerve was not removed through surgery.

“Failed back surgery syndrome? Are you saying everything you want to say?”

Choi Jin-gu raised his voice.

His face was 달아오르고 [flushed] red as if he was drunk, and his eyes became 가느다래졌다 [narrowed] like millet grains.

“Chief. Even so, mentioning failed back surgery syndrome is…….”

“This is clearly crossing the line on the chief’s side.”

“There’s a limit to how 막 나가는 [reckless] you can be.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. One 미꾸라지 [loach] is 흐리고 [muddying] the water.”

Some openly expressed their dissatisfaction and raised Choi Jin-gu’s hand [supported him].

Some expressed their dissatisfaction and displeasure in 혼잣말로 [muttering].

As you can see from the diagnosis of ‘failed spinal surgery syndrome’.

This was the same as Jun-hyuk openly attacking Choi Jin-gu’s surgery.

So everyone had no choice but to 벌떼같이 일어날 [rise up like a swarm of bees]…….

You did the surgery wrong.

The patient is in pain because of you.

……Which surgeon would admit it if you said, ‘That’s right.’?

But Jun-hyuk, who was at the center of the controversy, was 요지부동 [immovable]. He didn’t even 까닥거리지 [twitch] an eyebrow.

Why did Jun-hyuk create this situation in the first place?

And how was he going to get out of it?

Kim Han-sang was more interested in and curious about Jun-hyuk, even though his right-hand man Choi Jin-gu was 수세에 몰렸음에도 [on the defensive].

Whether Jun-hyuk was a fool or a genius would be decided from now on.

If he was the former, Jun-hyuk’s reputation would 추락할 [plummet] to the cliff.

If he was the latter…….

He would clearly reveal his presence from the first day of his tenure.

“Everyone, please access the patient’s spinal MRI on PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) with your cell phones. First, the MRI before the surgery.”

The professors followed Jun-hyuk’s instructions.

Jun-hyuk began to explain calmly.

“The lumbar L4-5 spinal canal is 협착되면서 [narrowed], and the lateral 함요부 [recess] is 눌려 [pressing] on the nerve due to the 함요부 [recess] bone and the 후관절 [facet joint], right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“That’s how it looks to me too.”

Surprisingly, the professors nodded 순순히 [obediently].

Even if they weren’t 경추·요추 [cervical and lumbar] part majors, they had basic knowledge of the waist as professors.

“Next, check the MRI taken after the surgery.”

“…….”

“What’s different?”

“It looks like the yellow ligament has been 제거된 [removed]?”

One of the professors answered immediately.

“Yes. That’s correct. Only the yellow ligament has been 제거됐죠 [removed]. To fundamentally treat the patient, we should have 제거했어야 [removed] the 함요부 [recess] bone and the 후관절 [facet joint].”

“…….”

“So our Professor Choi 오인하시고 [misunderstood] spinal stenosis as a herniated disc and did the surgery wrong.”

“…….”

“Am I wrong?”

Jun-hyuk looked at Choi Jin-gu, but Choi Jin-gu didn’t look at Jun-hyuk.

He was biting his lip and 죽어라 [intensely] looking at the MRI.

The atmosphere 가라앉은 [sank] at Jun-hyuk’s 지적 [pointing out].

The professors were 어쩔 줄 몰랐다 [at a loss], looking at Jun-hyuk and Choi Jin-gu’s 눈치를 [trying to read their expressions].

It was 벅찬 [too much] to 함부로 껴들 [carelessly intervene] because it wasn’t their major.

‘Finally, it’s my turn to 나설 [step forward].’

Kim Han-sang cleared his throat and said in a loud voice.

“Professor Bang. Aren’t you a 경추·요추 [cervical and lumbar] part major too? In your opinion, whose judgment is correct, the chief’s or Professor Choi’s?”

At Kim Han-sang’s words, everyone 주목했다 [focused] on Professor Bang’s lips.

Whose hand would he 번쩍 들어줄 [raise high in support]?

Professor Bang, feeling 부담을 [burdened], 긁적거리며 [scratching] the back of his head and 망설이다가 [hesitating], opened his mouth after a long time.

“Well…… In my opinion, the chief is right.”

The situation 역전되었다 [reversed] in an instant.