A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 537

Chapter 105: Completion and Connection (3)

‘Heh heh… This is something…’

Choi Jin-gu, who was resting briefly due to a throbbing wrist, clicked his tongue inwardly.

He glanced at Jun-hoo, who was already performing a craniotomy [surgical removal of part of the skull], dural incision [an incision into the dura mater, the tough membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord], and hematoma removal [surgical evacuation of a blood clot].

Each time Jun-hoo wielded the scalpel, a trail of dark ink was drawn in the air.

The trajectory was fluid and beautiful.

Not even a hair of the surrounding blood vessels and nerves was touched.

Jun-hoo’s surgery was admirable no matter how many times he saw it.

Perhaps Jun-hoo was the only one qualified to be called a divine physician among neurosurgeons.

Jun-hoo would be able to lead this surgery, Park Jae-hyun’s surgery, to success.

‘I can’t lose either.’

Choi Jin-gu also spurred on the surgery.

He removed the temporal bone he had been incising.

Compared to Jun-hoo, the speed only seemed relatively slow.

Choi Jin-gu’s craniotomy was also fast and clean.

The temporal lobe had a subdural hemorrhage [bleeding between the dura mater and the arachnoid mater]. A faint red wave was visible beneath the milky, opaque membrane.

Chiiiiiik!

Choi Jin-gu incised the cerebral dura mater with a Bovie (electrocautery) [a device used to stop bleeding by cauterizing tissue].

White smoke rose to the ceiling. The sweet smell of burning tissue spread through the operating room.

Gush!

A river of red blood poured out through the incision.

“Suction.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Woo-hyun sucked up the blood.

When the dura mater was retracted with a retractor, the surgical view became much clearer.

There were two bleeding sites in total.

One was a microvessel, and the other was a thick vessel extending from the central vessel.

Both had dark red blood clots, hematomas.

Choi Jin-gu hurriedly removed the subdural hematoma.

“What’s the patient’s intracranial pressure [the pressure inside the skull]?”

“It’s 15mmHg [millimeters of mercury, a unit of pressure measurement].”

“Heaven has helped us. Thanks to the drop in intracranial pressure, the brain that had escaped through the hook gyrus [a part of the brain] has been restored to its original state.”

A faint smile appeared on Choi Jin-gu’s lips.

Was it thanks to Jun-hoo taking charge of the frontal lobe with his amazing skills and himself assisting with the temporal lobe?

The patient’s intracranial pressure returned to normal in the blink of an eye.

A sprout of hope was budding in the despair that had overwhelmed him at the start of the surgery.

“Let’s keep going like this.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Choi Jin-gu incised the arachnoid and pia mater [two of the membranes protecting the brain and spinal cord] with unstoppable momentum.

Eventually, the brain, wrinkled like a walnut, revealed its appearance. The surface of the cerebrum was covered with dark grayish-white matter.

He brought his eyes close to the micro microscope.

Choi Jin-gu scanned the patient’s temporal lobe in detail.

In the process, he discovered an area he couldn’t bear to look at.

Ppa-deu-deu-deuk.

His teeth were grinding involuntarily, and his fist clenched.

Could Jun-hoo handle even this?

He was honestly skeptical this time.

* * *

‘I can save him. My mentor.’

Jun-hoo’s whole body was overflowing with hope.

The plummeting vitals were returning to normal, and the intracranial pressure was already at a normal level.

All life-threatening procedures had been successfully completed.

From now on, the key was the aftereffects.

How to finish the surgery without causing maximum damage to the brain.

“What about the electroencephalogram [EEG, a test that measures electrical activity in the brain]?”

“Irregular waves are being detected in the cerebral hemisphere. There are no seizures with the IV (intravenous) [administered through a vein] mix of anticonvulsants, but it seems like there will be problems after the surgery.”

“There’s no choice. We have to perform a corpus callosotomy [surgical procedure that involves cutting the corpus callosum].”

“Wouldn’t a corpus callosotomy be dangerous?”

“I can’t let my mentor… no, the patient live with systemic seizures.”

Jun-hoo replied with a determined look.

Corpus callosotomy.

It was a surgery to resect [surgically remove] the corpus callosum connecting the left and right hemispheres to prevent irregular brain waves from spreading throughout the brain.

A dangerous surgery that directly involves cutting the brain.

However, it was unavoidable considering the quality of life of his mentor afterward.

Jun-hoo visually checked the resection range of the corpus callosum.

Normally, the resection range should be calculated accurately in millimeters through MRI [magnetic resonance imaging], but.

Jun-hoo’s visual estimation was as accurate as an MRI.

The distance measurement ability of martial arts masters was beyond imagination.

Distance perception was bound to develop when facing an opponent with a sword at the risk of one’s life.

Because the all-or-nothing match was decided by a paper-thin difference.

Sssseuk.

The scalpel once again sprayed dark ink.

Following the trajectory drawn in his head, Jun-hoo resected about 54.7mm of the corpus callosum.

About two-thirds of the corpus callosum was resected.

There was no bleeding as he avoided the veins and arteries.

“Silicone foam.”

“Yes, Chief.”

Jun-hoo used forceps to grab the silicone foam handed over by the assistant and stuffed it into the resected gap in the corpus callosum.

Diiiiii.

Diiiiii.

The brain waves that had been undulating up and down gradually subsided.

The corpus callosotomy was a great success.

‘I would have been in big trouble without this guy.’

Jun-hoo smiled and looked down at the obsidian scalpel in his hand.

Thanks to the obsidian scalpel.

Jun-hoo was able to operate much more boldly than before.

Just now, if he had resected with a normal scalpel, he would have touched the veins and arteries, causing a cerebral hemorrhage.

“Chief. Please take a look over here too.”

“Yes. I was just about to.”

Jun-hoo moved to the other side where Choi Jin-gu was operating.

The atmosphere here was already like a funeral home. Everyone had their heads down and their eyes were resigned.

Jun-hoo brought his eyes close to the micro microscope.

His complexion darkened as if covered in dark clouds.

Some of the temporal lobe tissue was necrotic [dead].

It was dead black.

Choi Jin-gu had fought hard, but he couldn’t even treat the necrotic tissue.

“What do we do about this? If we leave it alone, the necrosis will spread.”

“What can we do? We have to resect it.”

“The necrotic tissue spans the motor nerves and the diencephalon [the posterior part of the forebrain]. If we make a mistake….”

Choi Jin-gu couldn’t bring himself to continue.

Jun-hoo fully understood what he was worried about.

It was a terrible situation with cliffs on both sides.

If the necrosis resection failed, his mentor would lose his life.

Damage to the diencephalon was fatal in the current state.

Even if the necrosis resection was successful, damage to the motor nerves could not be prevented.

So, should he leave the necrotic tissue alone?

Absolutely not.

It might be okay for now, but the brain would slowly die as the necrosis spread.

There was no other dilemma.

“We have to do our best. I’ll be away for a moment.”

Jun-hoo excused himself to the staff and left the operating room for a moment. After throwing his surgical gown into the medical waste container, he ran to the bathroom.

“Uweeeweeeck!”

Darkly clumped blood clots poured into the toilet.

He could no longer endure the aftereffects of maintaining the Jecheon Gong [a martial arts technique] for nearly 50 minutes.

The qi [vital energy] and blood were boiling, twisted, and blocked; it was a complete mess. Still, he felt much better after vomiting.

Jun-hoo flushed the toilet.

He stood in front of the sink, rinsed his mouth with tap water, and washed his face.

His eyes, as he looked in the mirror, were hollow.

Hair soaked with sweat hung down like seaweed, and his cheeks were sunken.

His face looked older, perhaps because he had spent an hour desperately as if it were a year.

‘It’s okay. We’re almost there anyway. If I just resect the necrotic temporal lobe with the Pungryuunsan technique [another martial arts technique], it’ll work out somehow.’

While encouraging himself.

Jun-hoo took out the cell phone he had put in his gown pocket.

There were three missed calls.

He wondered who it was, but it was Go Hyun-cheol.

The five-term lawmaker who survived by a hair’s breadth thanks to Jun-hoo after jumping from an apartment.

“Yes. Assemblyman [a member of a legislative assembly]. What’s going on?”

-Is the surgery already over?

“No. It’s not over, but it’s slowly coming to an end. How did you know I was in surgery?”

Jun-hoo asked, tilting his head.

-The fact that Assemblyman Park was attacked has already spread all over the media. Reporters will be heading there soon.

“Bad rumors spread in an instant.”

-The important thing is not that, but how is the surgery going?

“It’s much better than I expected. The most dangerous treatment is left, but I think I can handle it well.”

-Don’t do that.

“What do you mean, don’t do that?”

-I’m telling you to intentionally fail the surgery.

Jun-hoo doubted his ears at Go Hyun-cheol’s absurd words.

Intentionally fail the surgery?

How could he say such nonsense?

He felt like the qi and blood he had barely released were tangled once again. A hot heat soared from his dantian [a center of energy in the body, according to traditional Chinese medicine].

“Assemblyman. Are you trying to fight with me right now? There are things you can say and things you shouldn’t say.”

-Do you think I don’t know that?

Go Hyun-cheol retorted coldly.

The explanation that followed was even more shocking.

His mentor was pushing for a medical bill this time, risking his life.

It was called the Mandatory Assignment of Emergency Surgeons Act.

If this bill passed.

University hospitals would be required to have surgeons related to life on standby.

“That’s a great bill. Emergency patients often can’t get surgery because they’re pushed back by the regular schedule anyway.”

-…….

“There are also many patients who die from hospital hopping.”

-But this, it can’t pass the National Assembly. The opposition from the lawmakers is severe, and the opposition from the Korean Hospital Association is also severe.

Jun-hoo bit his lip instead of answering.

He had a feeling that would be the case.

Medical laws for patients rarely pass easily.

Unless some big incident happens.

As soon as his thoughts reached that point, Jun-hoo was startled.

It was as if he had been hit with ice-cold water.

Could it be??????

“Assemblyman. Are you saying that not saving my mentor….”

-Is your reason back now? The probability of this bill passing increases if Assemblyman Park dies. It will be the so-called ‘Park Jae-hyun Act.’

“Ha…….”

Jun-hoo sighed.

Now all the puzzle pieces fit together.

-Don’t treat me. Let me die like this.

These intentions were hidden in the words his mentor had struggled to utter while being transported.

Go Hyun-cheol, a political master, had clearly noticed that intention in advance.

-Assemblyman Park would want the bill to pass even if it meant sacrificing his own life.

“Yes. I think so too. Because he can save countless patients in the future by sacrificing one mentor’s life.”

Jun-hoo replied in a gloomy voice.

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

Why did he have to make such a cruel choice?

Jun-hoo’s mind was wavering.

Should he kill his mentor with his own hands to fulfill his mentor’s wish?

Or should he succeed in the surgery with the desire to be with his mentor for the rest of his life?

There was no best or second-best option in this choice.

There seemed to be only the worst and the second-worst.

Honestly, he didn’t like either one.

-I know it’s a difficult decision. But please follow Assemblyman Park’s wishes. This bill can’t pass without Assemblyman Park’s sacrifice.

“Is a bill more important than a person’s life?”

-In some cases, yes.

Go Hyun-cheol’s answer was cold.

If he were Jun-hoo, he would have intentionally failed the surgery without hesitation.

-Originally, people have something they want to achieve even at the risk of their lives. For Assemblyman Park, that bill is probably this bill.

“…….”

-I’ll leave the decision to Chief Seo.

Go Hyun-cheol hung up first.

Damn it!

Jun-hoo barely resisted the urge to throw the cell phone in his hand to the floor.

What am I supposed to do?

Why give me such a cruel ordeal?

After a lifetime of agony, Jun-hoo returned to the operating room.

He disinfected before surgery, put on his surgical gown, and returned to the operating room.

Jun-hoo’s eyes were as venomous as a viper.

The staff couldn’t even talk to Jun-hoo.

“Scalpel.”

The obsidian scalpel was in Jun-hoo’s hand. Reflecting the light of the surgical light, the scalpel sparkled with a clear dark light.

If he only cuts out the necrotic temporal lobe, his mentor will live.

If he resects the diencephalon, his mentor will die.

There was no middle ground in this surgery.

There was no third way either.

After a moment of hesitation, Jun-hoo wielded the obsidian scalpel.