A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 511

100. Collaboration (2)

‘That… that crazy bastard!’

Kim Hansang bit his lip tightly.

Arriving late at the hospital, Kim Hansang had to endure the uncomfortable company of the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs.

He was forced to watch Junhoo’s surgery together in the observation operating room.

He expected a torrent of insults and criticisms upon seeing his face, but the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs remained silent, sending him a cold gaze.

He treated Kim Hansang as if he were invisible.

It was a Grade 1 disaster in terms of severity, but what could he do?

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs’ mood was already as sour as it could be.

In the current situation, even stating that ‘1+1=2’ wouldn’t fly.

So, Kim Hansang didn’t make any excuses.

He didn’t even present the medical certificate he had brought from the Korean medicine clinic.

Pain is covered by greater pain; he hoped Junhoo would fail in the surgery, and everything would unravel smoothly.

But what’s this?

The progress of the surgery he was observing with great anticipation was ominous.

In short, the surgery was going too smoothly.

According to the CT scans he received from the resident, the Chairman should have been on his way to the afterlife even before his skull was opened.

Multiple hemorrhages were forming a river in his brain, and therefore, the intracranial pressure [pressure inside the skull] must have been immense.

A situation that any neurosurgeon would despair over.

Yet, Junhoo remained calm.

The ambidextrous surgery, which could be called his trademark, was in full swing.

The right hand was the left hand, and the left hand was the right hand, so distinguishing between the hands themselves was meaningless.

Both hands were equally fast and accurate.

Even for an ambidextrous person, there is usually a distinction between the dominant hand and the supporting hand, but there was no difference between Junhoo’s hands.

Weeeeng.

Weeeeng.

Holding medical drills in both hands, he simultaneously drilled two holes in the skull.

He even held scalpels in both hands and dissected the skull.

The trajectory left by the scalpel was as straight as if it had been drawn with a ruler.

Moreover, the surgery was fast amidst the precision.

The time it took to dissect the skull was only 25 minutes, nearly three times faster than Kim Hansang.

‘Why is that guy acting up again?’

There was one more person who was irritating Kim Hansang: Woohyun, a second-year resident.

Despite being a second-year, he was arrogantly serving as the first assistant, and his skill in assisting Junhoo was impeccable, not inferior even when compared to the chief resident.

“Once I took off my colored glasses, I could see Director Seo’s true worth,” the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs spoke for the first time in a while.

Of course, it was meant for Kim Hansang to hear.

“Even if you’re not a neurosurgery major, you can tell how amazing Director Seo is, unlike some people.”

“I have no excuse.”

Kim Hansang bowed his head, pretending to be sorry.

“Professor Kim.”

“Yes, Deputy Director.”

“If you have a tool that you can’t use when you really need it, what would you do?”

The meaning hidden in the question was terrifying; he was blatantly targeting Kim Hansang.

In an instant, his heart sank, his spine chilled, and his Adam’s apple bobbed with dry saliva.

“Still, shouldn’t we cherish it and use it well?”

“Is there a need to cherish something that is useless?”

“You never know what might be needed when and how. If it were me, I wouldn’t throw it away.”

“Hmph. I knew you’d say that.”

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs scoffed.

Throughout his speech, he didn’t even glance at Kim Hansang; a steel wall was erected between them.

Time passed quickly like a raging torrent.

The surgery was already entering its final stage.

There were three areas of multiple hemorrhages, and Junhoo had stopped the bleeding in two areas with lightning speed.

He stopped the bleeding and removed the hematoma [a solid swelling of clotted blood within the tissues].

Although the electrocardiogram was unstable, the patient’s vitals were relatively stable, and the intracranial pressure dropped to 20mmHg.

Considering that the initial intracranial pressure was 40mmHg and the normal intracranial pressure is 15mmHg, it was an amazing achievement.

It was a dazzling and incredible achievement.

“Director Seo, aren’t you going to operate on the cerebellum [the part of the brain at the back of the skull]? I thought the cerebellar hemorrhage was also severe.”

Kim Hansang got up from his seat and moved to the front table.

He turned on the microphone and spoke with it close to his mouth.

Of course, it wasn’t an action for Junhoo’s sake; it was a remark to scold him in front of the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs, saying, ‘You missed one important surgery.’

-I’m going to start with a Portable Brain CT scan first.

Junhoo also turned on the broadcasting microphone and spoke.

“Wouldn’t it be better to do the CT scan after the surgery?”

Kim Hansang’s voice was softer than usual.

-I think differently. Let’s watch the results of the scan first.

“I understand. Don’t worry too much, I’m just saying it out of concern. I trust the director’s deep intentions.”

Sucking up to him, Kim Hansang returned to his seat.

The surgical staff took a CT scan of his head with the CT scanner they had prepared in advance.

Until the results appeared on the monitor in the observation operating room, Kim Hansang wore a sly smile.

The show is over; heaven has abandoned you, he muttered inwardly.

The hemorrhage that occurred in the Chairman’s cerebellum could not be accessed surgically because it was the center that controlled breathing and heartbeat; the patient would lose his life even with the slightest impact.

No matter how skilled Junhoo was, he could not operate on an area that could not be operated on.

In other words, the game was over here.

However, the moment he checked the CT scan that appeared on the monitor linked to the observation operating room, Kim Hansang’s pupils widened as if they would pop out.

He jumped up from his seat in shock; something unbelievable had happened.

The Chairman’s cerebellum was clean, as if there had been no bleeding in the first place.

Even when he rubbed his eyes and looked, the image was normal.

Could this really be happening?

-Very rarely, bleeding resolves naturally. It seems like heaven has helped me.

Junhoo’s voice spread throughout the observation operating room.

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs, who was not a neurosurgery major, nodded, thinking, ‘I see,’ but Kim Hansang couldn’t.

This was almost like fraud.

There is bleeding that is naturally absorbed and bleeding that can only be corrected through surgery.

The Chairman’s bleeding was clearly the latter.

“Looks like something didn’t go as planned?”

The Deputy Director of Medical Affairs laughed heartily.

Having received too much shock, Kim Hansang failed to manage his expression.

* * *

Serves you right.

This one must have been a big blow, right?

It’ll take at least a month to recover.

Junhoo grinned slyly behind his mask.

There was no way he wouldn’t know Kim Hansang’s dark intentions.

Junhoo, who had expertise not only in medical skills but also in psychological warfare and political maneuvering, was not an ordinary doctor.

If he were an ordinary doctor, he would not have been able to stop the cerebellar hemorrhage and would not have been able to completely cure the Chairman, but Junhoo was different.

Junhoo was a surgeon with ‘martial arts’ and ‘inner energy’, a surgeon with unique abilities in the world.

The cerebellar hemorrhage had been resolved even before entering the operating room by distorting time with the Celestial Art of Emptiness, stopping the bleeding with the Pressure Point Technique, and tearing the hematoma to shreds with the sword of inner energy.

“It’s really amazing, Director. I couldn’t concentrate because I was so worried about the cerebellar hemorrhage.”

“…….”

“To think it would heal naturally.”

“We need days like this to have the strength to operate, right?”

Junhoo winked.

“Anyway, Woohyun, you worked hard too. Your help was great.”

“No. What did I do?”

Woohyun bowed his head shyly.

The hidden contributor to this surgery was Woohyun.

Despite being a second-year resident, he flawlessly took responsibility for assisting Junhoo.

Just as Junhoo was extraordinary, assisting Junhoo was also extraordinary.

It required not only understanding the surgical process but also a sensitive sense that could keep up with Junhoo’s speed and accuracy to some extent.

“Actually.”

“Actually?”

“I’ve assisted Director several times. Each time, I’ve stayed up all night reviewing the assistance. What should I do to avoid causing trouble to Director next time?”

“…….”

“I think I’ve become a little like Director while thinking about Director.”

“Excellent. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

Junhoo gave him a thumbs up.

In many ways, Woohyun reminded him of his former self.

In the past, Junhoo had also burned with enthusiasm, wanting to follow his teacher, Park Jaehyun.

“Now, there’s one last hurdle left.”

“Yes? Wasn’t the surgery over? The cerebellar hemorrhage was also stopped?”

Woohyun’s eyes widened at Junhoo’s shocking statement.

The scrub nurse and the second assistant also looked surprised; the atmosphere in the operating room froze in an instant.

“Look at the electrocardiogram. The waveform is unstable, right?”

“Yes. But isn’t that because the Chairman had heart valve surgery in the past?”

“Still, that’s too abnormal. He needs to have heart surgery separately.”

“That… well… the Chairman is 70 years old. Will he have the physical strength to withstand brain surgery and heart surgery at the same time?”

“We need to find a surgeon who can make that possible.”

As soon as Junhoo finished speaking, the operating room door opened, and two doctors approached the operating table.

One was a slender woman, and the other was a man as skinny as a reed.

The existing staff tensed up at the appearance of unfamiliar staff and scanned them with wary eyes.

“Is this the first time since internship? Meeting in the operating room?”

The female surgeon approached Junhoo and asked.

“It just happened that way. But we’ll be seeing each other often in the future, right?”

“I don’t like seeing you in the operating room.”

“Get married if you don’t like it.”

“I’m already married, you know?”

Junhoo and the female surgeon exchanged light jokes as if they were very close.

“Woohyun, come out for a moment.”

“Ah. Yes. Director.”

The female doctor and the male doctor each took the places Junhoo and Woohyun had left.

The female surgeon applied gel to the patient’s chest and performed Echocardiography [an ultrasound of the heart] on the patient’s chest.

‘Director must have contacted the thoracic surgery department in advance. I wondered why he kept checking the electrocardiogram. He never misses anything,’ Woohyun thought, busy praising Junhoo, who was his role model.

Even in the midst of that, his eyes kept going to the female surgeon who seemed to be friends with Junhoo.

It wasn’t that he was being sexist; it was like picking a star from the sky to encounter a woman majoring in surgery.

The innate physical difference couldn’t be helped.

Of course, there are women who are stronger than men and men who are more delicate than women, but it was difficult to ignore the average.

A long silence followed.

The female doctor was the first to speak.

“We have to operate. It’s not at a level that can be sustained with medication.”

“What’s the problem?”

“The heart valve is very damaged. If left untreated, it could lead to heart failure.”

“Why didn’t you know that until now? Doesn’t he get an annual health checkup?”

Junhoo asked in an absurd voice.

Woohyun agreed.

“Depending on the patient’s health condition, the valve can deteriorate rapidly.”

“Will the Chairman be able to withstand it? He’s old. He’s already wasted 2 hours with brain surgery.”

Junhoo was asking the female doctor the same question that Woohyun had asked Junhoo earlier.

Well, even if he was unrivaled in neurosurgery, he couldn’t be deeply knowledgeable about thoracic surgery.

“It’ll be okay if we proceed with minimally invasive surgery.”

“You’re saying you’ll do endoscopic surgery?”

“That’s right. If we shorten the surgery time while using hypothermia [deliberately lowering body temperature], there’s a good chance of success.”

“Sorry. The seminar was canceled due to rain, but I’m asking you to take on the surgery.”

“Then buy me Klungji for dinner.”

“What’s Klungji?”

“It’s a dessert made by pressing a croissant like nurungji [scorched rice].”

“You’re talking about dessert in the midst of all this.”

Junhoo and the female doctor’s conversation was getting more and more absurd. It wasn’t just that they were close, but their conversation felt like that of a husband and wife.

“Please take care of it.”

“Okay. You’ve worked hard. Leave the rest to me.”

“Let’s get out of here. We’ll only be a hindrance.”

“Yes. Director.”

Junhoo and Woohyun left the operating room with a light heart.

While taking off his surgical gown, surgical cap, and surgical gloves, Woohyun asked Junhoo.

“Who is that person anyway? She was acting just like your wife.”

Junhoo smiled and nodded.

“That’s right. My wife.”