A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 63

Martial Surgeon 63

Chapter 11: Training (1)

“Is the surgery prep all done?”

Dong-hoon stood by the operating table, scanning the surroundings as he asked.

“Yes, Professor.”

“Who’s this I don’t recognize? An intern working this month?”

Dong-hoon’s gaze settled on Jun-hoo.

“Yes. He’s usually a ward intern, but he’s filling in temporarily.”

“Hello, Professor. My name is Seo Jun-hoo.”

“You look like you’ll be a hard worker. Want to brief me on the patient?”

“Yes, I will brief you.”

Jun-hoo answered without hesitation, providing all the information he knew about the patient.

“The patient is 45 years old.”

“Name: Choi Seok-ho.”

“A construction worker who was brought to the emergency room after a fall during work.”

“CT [Computed Tomography scan, an imaging technique using X-rays] and MRI [Magnetic Resonance Imaging, an imaging technique using magnetic fields and radio waves] results showed a complex fracture of the distal tibia [the lower end of the shinbone].”

“The surgery being performed today is an open reduction and internal fixation with a metal plate.”

Jun-hoo was always sincere about his patients.

That’s why he thoroughly read and memorized the charts of the patients he was treating in advance.

Past medical history, family history, anaphylaxis [severe allergic reaction], special considerations, etc.

He had learned in the Murim [a world of martial arts] that even minor information could make a crucial difference.

For example, suppose an opponent in a sparring match had argued with someone before the match.

In this case, the opponent is more likely to be aggressive.

Jun-hoo found it more efficient to defend and then strike at the enemy’s weaknesses rather than meeting aggression with aggression.

This kind of detailed information was also important in medicine.

In the case of today’s surgery patient.

He had a history of hypertension [high blood pressure] and diabetes, so caution was needed during surgery to prevent bleeding.

“Impressive. That means you memorized the chart before coming into the operating room.”

Dong-hoon nodded and continued.

“These days, there are many interns who don’t even know what kind of surgery they’re assisting with.”

“…….”

“I know that intern life is tiring, but that shouldn’t be the case. Medical accidents happen when a doctor’s mindset becomes lax.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

“I wasn’t talking to you. Just consider it a grumble.”

Jun-hoo completely agreed with Dong-hoon’s words.

The moment when the mind becomes lax is the most dangerous moment.

It was a story he had also heard from his Murim master.

Perhaps that’s why.

Jun-hoo liked Dong-hoon even more.

He was also proud of the fact that he had received praise from Dong-hoon.

It was the first time he had been praised by a professor-level doctor.

“Everyone, to your positions.”

At Dong-hoon’s instruction, the staff members took their places one by one.

Dong-hoon at the surgeon’s position.

A scrub nurse next to Dong-hoon.

Dong-seok, the first assistant, across from him.

Jun-hoo took his place next to Dong-seok.

The shadowless light brightly illuminated the operating table.

The patient under the light looked like an actor on stage.

Beep, beep, beep.

The mechanical sound of the patient monitoring device seemed to urge the surgery on.

Finally, I’m assisting in my first surgery.

I’ll at least make sure I don’t hinder the surgery.

Jun-hoo firmly resolved in his mind. He engraved the assist he had to do into his bones.

“We will now begin the open reduction and internal fixation with a metal plate for the complex fracture of the distal tibia.”

Dong-hoon’s voice echoed softly in the operating room.

It was a signal flare announcing the start of the surgery.

Swish.

Jun-hoo widely disinfected the surgical area, from the patient’s left knee to the ankle.

He covered it with a surgical drape.

“#10 blade.”

Dong-hoon, receiving the scalpel from the nurse, began the incision.

He made a long, 16-centimeter incision on the lateral (outer) side of the patient’s left leg.

He’s really something.

Jun-hoo admired Dong-hoon’s hand movements.

Dong-hoon’s hands were steady.

There was no hesitation either.

He created an incision in a vertical shape as if he had used a ruler.

One more thing to note.

That was the fact that Dong-hoon was using his left hand.

Is he left-handed?

Perfectly performing the surgical assist.

In fact, Jun-hoo had another goal besides that.

It was to analyze Dong-hoon’s surgery and memorize the entire surgical process.

Like memorizing martial arts forms.

Isn’t the basis of surgery cutting, slicing, removing, and suturing?

If so, he might be able to memorize today’s surgery and apply it to other surgeries.

As the skin split, white fascia [a band or sheet of connective tissue] was revealed.

Jun-hoo held retractors in both hands and widened the skin incision to the left and right.

It was a procedure to widen the surgical field of view.

“You’re doing things without even being told.”

Dong-hoon glanced at Jun-hoo and said.

“I apologize if I was being presumptuous.”

“Did I sound a bit strange? That was a compliment.”

“…….”

“You don’t need to be conscious of others when you’re doing what you have to do. The only people a doctor needs to be aware of are the patient and their guardian.”

“Yes, I understand.”

For 10 minutes, while incising the fascia and exposing the bone.

Jun-hoo steadfastly retracted the incision like a pine tree.

Another intern would have been unable to properly open the incision because their arms would have been sore, but Jun-hoo was different.

Hadn’t he already ascended to the ranks of superhuman?

Wasn’t it simply a task that required strength?

Jun-hoo’s retraction was consistent from beginning to end.

While retracting, he also didn’t miss the work of analyzing Dong-hoon’s hand movements and memorizing the surgical process.

What?

Was he ambidextrous?

He’s doing the fascia incision with his right hand again?

Jun-hoo was shocked once again as he watched Dong-hoon.

Swish.

Dong-hoon’s right hand was cleanly cutting away only the fascia, avoiding nerves and veins.

Even more surprising.

That was the fact that the completeness of the incision did not decrease at all even though Dong-hoon switched the hand he was using.

To be able to handle both hands so freely…

Jun-hoo felt like he had been hit hard.

In both the Murim and the modern world, Jun-hoo was right-handed.

The accuracy of his left hand was relatively lower than that of his right hand.

However, the advantages of being able to use both hands well were clear.

If there was a minor injury to one hand.

When performing delicate surgery, it was much more helpful to be able to handle both hands skillfully.

The other hand could cover for the hand with lower proficiency.

He’s definitely someone worth making a mentor.

His attitude towards patients and surgery.

Even the completeness of the surgery.

Stimulated by Dong-hoon, Jun-hoo set a new goal to train his left hand as well.

Perhaps he would be able to master the two-sword style (二刀流) [nitōryū, a Japanese swordsmanship technique involving the use of two swords simultaneously] that he had not been able to master even in the Murim in the modern world.

* * *

The surgery proceeded smoothly up to the stage of exposing the bone.

During that time, Jun-hoo took charge of minor procedures.

Retracting the surgical area.

Wiping away or suctioning the gushing blood with gauze.

He passed surgical instruments to Dong-seok efficiently.

As an intern, he was not directly involved in the surgery.

But Jun-hoo was satisfied just by being in the operating room.

He was directly contributing to saving the patient’s life.

It was also fun to admire and observe Dong-hoon’s skills.

And to memorize the surgical process like martial arts forms.

To Jun-hoo, the operating room was another battlefield and training ground, different from the Murim.

“Shall we take a break for a moment?”

The staff’s eyes lit up at Dong-hoon’s suggestion.

They had been running non-stop for two hours, so they all seemed relieved to get a break.

“Jun-hoo, aren’t you tired?”

“I’m fine. Professor and Dr. Dong-seok did all the hard procedures.”

“That guy too.”

A smile appeared on Dong-hoon’s face.

It was hidden by the mask and not revealed to anyone.

But Dong-hoon saw Jun-hoo as a sensible friend.

He had studied the patient thoroughly and came into the operating room.

He did the procedures without even being instructed.

And that’s not all.

Despite his slender figure, his stamina was also very good.

The staff who are currently resting all look exhausted, but only Jun-hoo is fine.

Jun-hoo was far superior to the intern who had scrubbed in the morning.

“Professor, I have a question.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Have you always used both hands, Professor?”

Jun-hoo asked, his eyes shining.

“No. I was originally right-handed. I steadily practiced my left hand and brought it up to the level of my right hand.”

“May I ask how you practiced your left hand?”

“Well, there’s nothing special. I just tried to do things that I usually do with my right hand with my left hand.”

“…….”

“Why are you suddenly curious about that?”

“I asked because I wanted to become proficient with both hands like you, Professor.”

Jun-hoo’s answer was a masterpiece.

He wants to become a doctor who uses both hands…

Usually, people don’t have such an active mindset.

This is because there was no problem with treatment or surgery even if they only used their right hand well.

Of course, the advantages of using both hands well are clear, but the process was incredibly difficult.

From the moment you eat, try using chopsticks and a spoon with a hand other than the one you used to use.

Think about how frustrating that is.

But you’re not just eating, you’re going to use the other hand when dealing with people’s lives?

This required a truly painstaking effort.

Because mistakes could never be tolerated.

“So, when did you start learning to use your left hand, Professor?”

“It was when I was an intern, so it’s just like you. By the time I finished my fellowship [a period of specialized medical training], I could use my left hand during surgery.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

Looking at Jun-hoo’s eyes.

Listening to Jun-hoo’s voice, Dong-hoon realized.

That Jun-hoo was trying to walk the same path as him.

That guy, you’re the type to buy hardship too.

Dong-hoon liked Jun-hoo, who resembled him.

People often used the phrase ‘buying hardship’ in a negative sense.

But Dong-hoon thought differently.

It was right to buy hardship yourself.

This is because you can’t learn any lessons from the hardships that others pass on to you.

“Break time is over. Dong-seok, let’s switch places.”

“Yes, Professor.”

At Dong-hoon’s suggestion, Dong-seok moved to the surgeon’s position.

Dong-hoon moved to the first assistant position.

The highlight of the surgery was the metal plate internal fixation that was about to begin.

And the main character was Dong-seok, not Dong-hoon.

Today was the day Dong-hoon was training Dong-seok.

“Don’t be nervous. Just do as you’ve learned.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Dong-seok looked at the MRI image on the surgical monitor and then looked down at the surgical area.

The outer part of the tibia, exposed between the white fascia, was broken and misaligned.

Fragments of broken bone were scattered around the periphery.

“First, I will remove the surrounding bone fragments.”

“I’ll do that. You focus on the metal plate fixation.”

“Yes.”

As Dong-hoon was about to remove the bone fragments, Jun-hoo was already handing Dong-hoon the suction device.

As if he had read Dong-hoon’s mind.

At this point, he became curious.

“Jun-hoo.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Did you perhaps memorize the surgical procedure?”

Looking at Jun-hoo’s half-beat faster movements, he could only think so.

“I couldn’t memorize the surgical procedure. But if I were you, Professor, I would suck up the bone fragments with a suction device.”

“What’s next?”

“I think you will remove the bone fragments located in areas that cannot be reached due to the volume of the suction device with Semkin forceps [a type of surgical instrument].”

Jun-hoo’s answer was unhesitating.

As if he had been waiting for the question.

Look at this guy?

He saw through even that?

Dong-hoon became more curious about how much Jun-hoo knew.

“Okay. It’s good to use forceps too. But why Semkin forceps of all things?”

“The circulating nurse said. You prefer Semkin forceps, Professor. I thought about the reason for that…”

“…….”

“I think it’s because Semkin forceps are the most precise forceps that can be used without damaging the surrounding tissue.”

He asked the nurse in advance about the surgical instruments he preferred…

And he thought about the reason for it himself…

Dong-hoon couldn’t help but admire Jun-hoo’s meticulousness and analytical skills.

Certainly, it was worth living a long life to see the world.

To meet such a monstrous intern.

“Am I wrong?”

Dong-hoon shook his head at Jun-hoo, who asked cautiously.

“No, that’s the correct answer.”