A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 509

The Martial Surgeon – Episode 509

Chapter 99: Challenge (5)

In front of a bed in Emergency Room Zone A.

‘Ugh… I can’t breathe.’

Woo-hyun felt a pressure as if he were being crushed by a high-pressure press.

He had received an emergency room call and arrived to find that the person who had collapsed was none other than the foundation’s ‘Chairman.’

In reality, this person far surpassed the hospital director as the hospital’s true leader.

The Chairman was a man in his seventies who didn’t look like a typical wealthy person at all.

His appearance was ordinary, and his attire was plain.

He had a friendly face, like an uncle you might run into in the neighborhood.

But from the moment he confirmed the Chairman lying unconscious on the bed, a heavy burden, as weighty as a sack of rice, settled upon him.

A secretary dressed in a smart suit, and even the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs, were guarding the bedside.

“Is there no one else available for emergency treatment besides you?”

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs glared sharply.

He seemed dissatisfied with Woo-hyun, a resident.

“Everyone else is on their regular schedule, so I came down. I will do my best.”

Woo-hyun presented an awkward yet proper greeting, like a new recruit.

“What happened?”

“He collapsed while complaining of a headache during a regular check-up,” the secretary replied.

“Did he injure his head when he fell?”

“No. I supported him, so that didn’t happen.”

“Stop asking pointless questions and focus on the treatment. That’s not important right now.”

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs snapped.

The verbal lash stung.

Feeling deflated, Woo-hyun took out the penlight he had put in his doctor’s coat pocket.

Click!

As he turned on the switch, the penlight shone brightly.

Woo-hyun used his thumb and forefinger to widen the Chairman’s left eye.

He examined the pupil with the light.

Despite the bright light shining into it, the pupil showed no reaction. It wasn’t perfectly round but slightly distorted.

A chill ran down his spine.

Goosebumps rose on his arms.

This wasn’t just a bomb going off; it was like an anti-tank mine had exploded.

Cerebral edema [swelling in the brain] and hemorrhage were certain.

The Chairman’s right pupil was just as abnormal.

“Insert a central venous catheter and mix mannitol (a diuretic) for IV administration. Add an antihypertensive agent as well.”

As soon as he gave the order to the nurse,

Woo-hyun turned his attention to the patient monitoring device.

The vitals were a mess.

First of all, the blood pressure was too high: 190/130 mmHg.

The pulse was 140 beats per minute.

The breathing was unstable, and the oxygen saturation had dropped to 92 percent.

Only the body temperature was normal.

Woo-hyun conveyed his findings to the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs.

The Deputy Director’s face remained serious throughout. His arms were crossed so tightly they seemed knotted. The wrinkles on his forehead showed no sign of smoothing out.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I’ll prepare for surgery immediately. I’ll also check the test results at the station.”

“Who will perform the surgery?”

“Well… I’ll contact Professor Kim Han-sang first.”

“Good. I feel relieved if it’s Professor Kim.”

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs showed a satisfied expression for the first time.

While the nurse carried out the orders,

Woo-hyun moved to the station with the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs.

He hurriedly called the operating room and the anesthesiology department.

Scheduling the surgery wasn’t difficult.

The problem was selecting the surgeon.

Bling, bling~

Woo-hyun called Associate Professor Kim Han-sang. Kim Han-sang specialized in neurovascular issues.

The most reliable person would naturally be Jun-hoo, but he couldn’t be called in due to his surgery schedule.

-What is it?

Kim Han-sang started with a complaint as soon as the call connected.

His nasty temper was still the same.

“Associate Professor. Are you available for surgery right now? I know you don’t have any afternoon schedule after the morning surgery…”

-Is it an emergency?

“Yes. It’s a super emergency.”

-Can’t do it. I’m out right now. Persuade the guardian to transfer to another hospital.

Noisy sounds could be heard over the phone. He wasn’t sure exactly where he was, but it seemed like there were many people around.

Was he playing golf again?

“It’s not just any patient; the Chairman collapsed due to a brain hemorrhage. You need to come quickly.”

-What? The Chairman?!

Kim Han-sang’s tone changed drastically. But he didn’t immediately say he would come.

-What’s his specific condition?

“Brain hemorrhage, cerebral edema, and even brain herniation are suspected.”

-What about the Brain CT or MRI results?

“Ah…”

Belatedly, Woo-hyun checked the Chairman’s imaging records and made a dumbfounded sound.

Multiple brain hemorrhages!

The bleeding wasn’t in one place but in three locations.

Midbrain – Cerebellum – Cerebral lobe.

Woo-hyun’s vision momentarily darkened. He had seen quite a few CTs and MRIs of brain hemorrhage patients.

But this was the first time he had witnessed such severe multiple hemorrhages.

The hand holding the mouse trembled slightly.

His mouth felt parched, as if he had been chewing sand.

Can we really save him?

The shock soon turned into fear.

-Why didn’t you notify me sooner!

“Multiple hemorrhages in the midbrain, cerebellum, and cerebral lobe.”

-What? Are you kidding me?

Kim Han-sang raised his voice.

He seemed not to believe Woo-hyun’s notification.

“Should I take pictures of the images and send them to you?”

-Yes. Send them first.

After checking the photos, Kim Han-sang was silent for a long time.

What would Kim Han-sang’s judgment and choice be?

-Geez… this is hopeless.

Kim Han-sang said resignedly.

“What should I do…”

“Hey! Don’t piss me off; give me the phone.”

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs, who was nearby, snatched Woo-hyun’s phone. He tried to call Kim Han-sang directly.

“Professor Kim, it’s the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs.”

-Are you in the emergency room too, Deputy Director?

“The Chairman collapsed; I can’t just sit on the sofa in my office.”

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs spoke rapidly.

“Why is the call so long? Shouldn’t you just say yes and rush over?”

-….

“You’re the only one I trust to handle the Chairman’s surgery with confidence.”

-Well… cough, cough. I have the flu and came to the hospital.

Woo-hyun overheard Kim Han-sang’s call.

He scoffed inwardly.

What a load of crap.

He was perfectly fine, even pretending to putt during the morning conference.

“Hospital? Where are you going instead of our hospital?”

-I came to a famous traditional Korean medicine clinic. It’s a bit far, so it will take some time to get to the hospital. About an hour by car….

“What a load of bullshit. You think I’m a pushover because I’ve been nice to you?”

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs shot back.

His face was already red.

His voice was fierce, like a wild beast.

Indeed, not just anyone could become the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs.

Even without perfectly knowing the circumstances of the neurosurgery department, he saw through Kim Han-sang’s intentions.

“Do you think I don’t know you’re scared of something going wrong during the Chairman’s surgery?”

-How can you say such disappointing things? It’s true. If you really don’t believe me, I’ll get a medical certificate and go back.

“A medical certificate? You think that will prove anything? Cut it off right now!”

The call ended anticlimactically.

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs still seemed angry, puffing out air.

His hand holding the phone trembled.

Woo-hyun couldn’t do anything, afraid that even a slight touch would cause the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs to explode.

“Hey, resident.”

“Yes, Deputy Director.”

“Contact Chief Seo.”

“The chief is about to go into surgery.”

“Don’t talk back; just call him. And tell him to come down right away.”

“Ah… I understand.”

After receiving the phone back from the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs,

Woo-hyun hurriedly contacted Jun-hoo. He notified him of the situation and waited for a decision.

It was a great relief.

Jun-hoo said he would come down soon.

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs’ anger, which seemed to swallow the hospital, subsided a little.

“By the way, why did the Chairman have multiple brain hemorrhages? He gets his annual check-ups without fail. And there was no external injury.”

“I’m not sure either…”

“Look at last year’s check-up images.”

“Yes.”

Woo-hyun sat down and examined the Chairman’s health check-up from last year.

The Chairman had a heart condition and had undergone a heart valve transplant three years ago.

But there were no problems on the neurosurgery side at all.

Even the findings of a brain aneurysm, the most suspected cause of brain hemorrhage, were not found.

It was certainly a perplexing result.

For a major disaster like today to occur, there should have been some signs from before.

“Neurosurgery isn’t my specialty, but isn’t this normal enough?”

“It looks that way to me too.”

“Then why on earth…”

“MRIs aren’t perfect either. Angiography isn’t perfect either. Rarely, aneurysms may not be visible due to blood clots, and sometimes they can’t be detected if blood vessels are constricted (shrunk or narrowed).”

A familiar voice.

A missed voice.

A welcome voice was heard from the side.

Jun-hoo was standing next to Woo-hyun like Hong Gil-dong [a Korean folk hero known for appearing suddenly to help those in need].

He had arrived.

My savior.

Woo-hyun saw a ray of light in the pit of despair.

* * *

“Chief Seo. You’ve come just in time. I’ve been eagerly waiting for you to come.”

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs said with a bright expression.

Jun-hoo was puzzled by his welcome, which had blatantly favored Kim Han-sang.

Was it because the patient was the Chairman?

“Woo-hyun, can you pull up the emergency test results?”

“Yes, Chief.”

Jun-hoo quickly scanned the blood tests, chest X-rays, electrocardiogram, and Brain CT scans.

The condition was much more serious than he had heard over the phone.

His eyes narrowed more and more.

His lips were tightly shut.

His slightly clenched fist tightened involuntarily.

A bomb had exploded in the Chairman’s head.

Not just one, but three at the same time.

The bleeding sites were also terrible.

The difficult cerebellum area, which is hard to access with surgery, was involved.

Even more ominous was the electrocardiogram rhythm.

The unique ST and T wave patterns were noticeable.

If there was a problem not only with the brain but also with the heart,

The difficulty of this surgery would skyrocket more than threefold.

“Did you secure an operating room?”

“Yes. But the associate professor is out, so he can’t do the surgery. What should we do?”

Woo-hyun asked with anxious eyes.

“Of course, Chief Seo has to do it. Can we entrust the Chairman’s surgery to just anyone?”

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs chimed in.

“But the chief already has a surgery schedule…”

“I’ll try to adjust it somehow. I’m the only one who can do the Chairman’s surgery.”

“That’s reassuring. Unlike some others.”

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs nodded vigorously and patted Jun-hoo on the back.

But Jun-hoo himself showed an indifferent reaction to the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs’ attitude.

The Chairman’s surgery was both a crisis and an opportunity.

If the surgery failed,

The reputation Jun-hoo had built up so far would be shattered in an instant. It was obvious that he would incur the foundation’s displeasure.

But what if he succeeded?

A new light could shine on the epilepsy clinic, which was on the verge of collapse, and the introduction of robotic surgery.

No. Let’s not consider the gains.

That’s not why I became a surgeon.

Whether it’s the Chairman or a vagrant, I just need to do my best for the patient in front of me.

I’ll leave the rest to heaven.

Just as Jun-hoo was steeling himself,

The Chairman’s secretary came running towards them in a hurry. He threw cold water on the warm atmosphere.

“Everyone, please come quickly! The Chairman is in cardiac arrest!”