A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 500

Chapter 98: Challenger (1)

Observation surgery room.

A middle-aged man stood with his arms crossed, watching the monitor displaying the surgery room.

The man’s name was Choi Yong-jin.

He was an assistant professor of hand surgery.

He was supposed to attend a seminar in Seoul, but his flight was canceled due to strong winds and rain.

He had no choice but to return to the hospital.

Beside him sat Jung Hyun-gyo, a junior from medical school and a professor of hand surgery at Jewon University Hospital.

He, too, was unable to attend the seminar for the same reason as Choi Yong-jin.

“Still, it’s rewarding to be back at the hospital.”

Jung Hyun-gyo continued.

“To be able to witness the surgery of Director Seo Jun-hoo, who thinks he’s the best in the world.”

“What are your impressions of seeing it in person?”

“Honestly, I believed he was 100 percent a charlatan. Just a pretty face and a flash-in-the-pan surgeon who rose to fame through NewTube.”

“…….”

“It seems I was a bit mistaken.”

Admiration was mixed in Jung Hyun-gyo’s voice.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the monitor.

Jun-hoo’s surgical procedure was smoother than silk, as precise as if measured with a ruler, and as beautiful as a rose.

How could he have elevated the reattachment surgery to such a level after only one year of training at Mayo [Mayo Clinic, a renowned medical center]?

Jung Hyun-gyo couldn’t understand it at all.

“It’s not just a finger, but a toe reattachment, right? You can assume he can do most reattachment surgeries.”

“It’s definitely more difficult to reattach a toe. It’s hard to get into the surgical position, and the blood vessel and nerve structure are complex.”

Choi Yong-jin nodded as if acknowledging it.

“Director Seo isn’t just pretending to be righteous, is he?”

“What do you mean?”

“He could just do neurosurgery, but he’s bothering with hand surgery.”

“Hmm… honestly, he could have ignored the patient.”

“That’s what I mean. I might become Director Seo’s fan starting today.”

“If you’re a fan, you should cheer him on enthusiastically.”

Choi Yong-jin’s voice was meaningful.

Even though the surgery was progressing smoothly, his expression remained stiff.

“You’re not hoping Director Seo’s surgery fails, are you?”

“You’re still crossing the line with your words.”

“I’m sorry. But somehow, I sense an atmosphere from you, senior, that you want the surgery to fail.”

“Far from it. The surgery must succeed. He’s a grateful benefactor who is performing the surgery in my place.”

“Then why did you bring up cheering him on earlier?”

Jung Hyun-gyo asked, his eyes shining.

Choi Yong-jin handed over his phone instead of answering. A CT scan of the patient’s toe was displayed on the phone.

Jung Hyun-gyo zoomed in on the video and examined it carefully.

The excitement in his heart subsided in an instant. His peaceful mind was suddenly clouded with worry and anxiety.

The hand that returned the phone to Choi Yong-jin trembled faintly.

“Ha… I can’t believe the bad luck. Of all things….”

“Now do you understand? I wasn’t hoping the surgery would fail, but I was worried because I wanted it to succeed.”

Choi Yong-jin continued with a troubled expression.

“I don’t know how Director Seo will overcome this obstacle.”

“But isn’t there some way? He must have seen the CT scan before the surgery.”

“I hope so.”

The chatter ended there.

The two remained silent, watching every move of the surgery through the monitor.

Time passed relentlessly.

The final battle was approaching.

* * *

Breakneck pace!

The most accurate word to describe Jun-hoo’s surgery.

With the physical abilities amplified by the Manhwa Gong [a cultivation technique], Jun-hoo was successively overcoming the reattachment surgery.

1) Conquer and fix the toe bone using the wire-based knot tying technique.

2) Suture the four central tendons of the toe and suture the tendon sheath.

Steps 1-2 were carried out in the blink of an eye, like the scenery passing by quickly when driving on the highway.

When suturing the tendons, the tattered tissue was cut off in advance, and the surface was made smooth.

This is because the effect of rehabilitation exercises is better.

The tendons were cut zigzag and messily due to the escalator, but they were no match for Jun-hoo.

Among the techniques of the Azure Wind Sword Style [a martial arts style].

There was a technique called White Stone Wave.

It was a technique that shook the opponent up and down like a wave.

Using the principle of White Stone Wave, Jun-hoo’s hands and wrists repeatedly moved up and down like the cut surface.

The sight was like dancing to a lively rhythm.

3) Anastomose [surgically connect] the arterial blood vessels.

After the tendon suture was completed, the first hurdle, arterial blood vessel anastomosis, arrived.

The blood vessels on both sides were too short to anastomose.

Even when stretched as long as possible, they were 2 centimeters short.

So Jun-hoo had no choice but to harvest the child’s subclavian artery [a major artery in the chest] and attach it to both blood vessels.

It was an extra step, but there was nothing wrong with it.

Jun-hoo’s anastomosis technique….

Was already at its peak.

The time it took for Jun-hoo to harvest the subclavian artery and anastomose the blood vessels was actually faster than the time it took for other professors to anastomose only the blood vessels.

‘Wow, this is crazy!’

Throughout assisting Jun-hoo, Jung Ji-hoon couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

He already knew that Jun-hoo was a great surgeon. But he didn’t know he would be this great.

As a second-year fellow, he had assisted countless times by the side of hand surgery professors.

No professor had ever shown such a high level of surgical skill as Jun-hoo.

Was that why?

A conviction that the child could regain his toe was welling up.

The rest of the surgery was also beyond Jung Ji-hoon’s expectations.

The suture of the nerve bundles that branched out like tree branches also continued smoothly.

It seemed like nothing could stop Jun-hoo.

At least until then.

The problem occurred when suturing the venous blood vessels.

If there is a way to go.

There must also be a way to come.

If the artery is the way to go, the vein is the way to come.

Even if it is the same blood vessel, venous blood vessel anastomosis is several times more difficult than arterial blood vessel anastomosis.

This is because venous blood vessels lack elasticity.

In particular, when reattaching a toe, there is a difficulty in that the venous blood vessels are connected to the sole of the foot, making anastomosis difficult.

Would this opponent be formidable?

Jun-hoo’s momentum, which had been like a tiger, was also somewhat subdued in venous anastomosis.

The suture thread repeatedly broke and loosened.

Two sets of suture threads were quickly discarded into the curved basin.

“This is troublesome.”

Jun-hoo frowned and muttered. The faces of the staff, who felt an ominous sign, turned pale.

“Director. Is there any problem….”

“The elasticity of the veins is much worse than expected. The patient is young, and the wound is too deep due to the escalator groove.”

“Then what do we do now?”

“I have to do everything I can first.”

Jun-hoo changed the suture thread from 8-0 Prolene to 11-0 Prolene [different sizes of suture threads].

A thinner suture thread.

In fact, he decided to use the thinnest and finest suture thread among the suture threads.

Unfortunately, the result was the same.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The suture thread broke helplessly.

The veins were too fragile to withstand the suture thread.

Even the area where the suture needle passed through left a faint torn wound.

It meant that the veins were damaged.

Damn it!

I was really close. I just need to take one more step.

Am I going to collapse here?

The nerves are surprisingly intact, so I can suture them quickly.

Jun-hoo lamented inwardly.

It wouldn’t matter if only one or two of the veins to be anastomosed were weak.

The problem was that all the veins were in that shape, in that condition.

Even if the arterial blood vessels were anastomosed.

It was all for naught if the venous anastomosis could not be performed.

“Director. Congestion (a phenomenon in which blood pools) has occurred in the artery. The toe is swelling. It’s swelling and turning blue!”

Jung Ji-hoon notified in a sharp voice.

Jun-hoo bit his lip tightly.

His lip tore, and a bitter taste of blood spread.

This was a disaster.

Time was tightening around Jun-hoo’s neck.

Blood was entering through the anastomosed artery, but there was no place for that blood to go, so congestion occurred.

The veins had to be secured as soon as possible so that the blood could escape.

Even with Jun-hoo’s wondrous skills, armed with martial arts.

It was impossible to rebuild the veins.

When was the last time I had this experience?

Wasn’t it the first time since I trained in the Boost Up Program at Mayo and returned to Korea?

Even when I operated on Go Hyun-chul, who fell from the 8th floor, I had never been driven to the edge like this.

The unfamiliar feeling of anxiety that I felt after a long time was unfamiliar.

I overestimated myself too much.

Jun-hoo belatedly reflected.

I had somewhat expected this picture when I checked the toe CT. That venous anastomosis would not be easy.

But I ignored it neatly.

Jun-hoo was the one and only surgeon armed with internal energy and martial arts.

I thought I could overcome this somehow.

“Director. What should we do?”

Jung Ji-hoon asked, urging him.

The scrub nurse also looked at Jun-hoo with worried eyes.

Jun-hoo looked at the child instead of the staff.

I didn’t want to give the child a life without a toe.

It’s uncomfortable to walk.

And they will be severely teased or ostracized by their peers.

A life lacking something was bound to be painful.

That was the case with Jun-hoo in the Murim world [a world of martial arts and cultivation].

After losing his father and his clan to Jeok Il-do, he could not return to a normal life.

Distorted and twisted.

Because he only lived with a burning desire for revenge.

There is a way.

It’s not that I don’t have it, it’s just that I haven’t found it.

What am I missing right now?

A fleeting moment passed like an eternity.

Jun-hoo barely found a breakthrough. A ray of light shone into his dark mind like a cave.

“Do we have Hirudo [medicinal leeches]?”

“Hirudo? I’ll have to check, but I think we have it. Ah… I didn’t think of Hirudo.”

Jung Ji-hoon’s face also brightened.

“I’ll go get it now.”

Jung Ji-hoon hurriedly left the operating table.

* * *

10 minutes later.

Swoosh.

Swoosh.

The scalpel drew a flashing trajectory.

Jun-hoo was deliberately making wounds near the child’s artery with a scalpel.

As the tissue tore, red blood oozed out.

“Hirudo.”

“Yes. Director.”

Jun-hoo attached the Hirudo, which he received from the scrub nurse, to the newly wounded tissue.

Hirudo was a leech.

However, it was not an ordinary leech, but one of the species of leeches approved for medical use.

It was a dark-skinned guy, and its size was only half the size of a thumb.

As soon as the leech was attached to the wound, it began to suck blood.

‘I wonder if I can catch my breath with this.’

Jun-hoo’s shoulders, which had been stiff, loosened slightly.

When there was a problem with blood pooling in the artery.

By making a wound and attaching a leech to that area, congestion could be prevented.

But there are still no veins.

Doesn’t it mean nothing if you can’t create a venous route?

… Someone might ask.

Half right and half wrong.

The human body’s ability to recover is excellent.

If there are no veins, it is designed to create veins.

Until then, the key to this treatment was for the leech to absorb congestion in the artery and hold out.

“Is there only one Hirudo?”

“Yes. I don’t have much use for it….”

“Yeah, I can’t even remember when I used it last. I wouldn’t use Hirudo unless I didn’t do the anastomosis.”

That’s why Jun-hoo couldn’t think of Hirudo quickly.

Most of the anastomosis surgery cases were extreme.

The middle was as rare as hen’s teeth.

“But somehow this guy doesn’t seem to have any strength.”

“That’s right. It doesn’t seem to be absorbing blood properly?”

After listening to the staff’s story.

Hirudo was not doing well.

Even though there was delicious blood in front of him, he couldn’t suck it properly.

It seemed that the condition was not good because it had been left for a long time.

This won’t do.

You are my only hope.

You have to exert the strength you used to suckle.

Jun-hoo gently placed his index finger on Hirudo’s body. Then, he sent the internal energy he had drawn from his dantian [energy center] to Hirudo.

He gave the leech nourishment (?) with internal energy.

Internal energy is life force.

If it was alive, it could not help but be affected.

The result was amazing!

Hirudo, who received internal energy, suddenly swelled up and began to suck blood at a terrifying speed.

The congestion disappeared in an instant.

As if there was no blood in that place in the first place.