A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 72

The Martial Surgeon – Chapter 72

Chapter 12: Lingering Feelings (5)

Step. Step.

After quickly handling the piled-up orders, Jun-hoo headed to the operating room.

-Why did you help me just now? You could have just ignored me.

Jun-hoo chuckled at Woo-hyun’s question that popped into his head as he walked.

Clearly, it was something Woo-hyun couldn’t understand with his common sense.

The act of helping someone you dislike.

But Jun-hoo’s way of thinking was different from Woo-hyun’s.

What Jun-hoo focused on was the patient.

Ignoring the patient’s pain to get back at Woo-hyun?

That was something Jun-hoo could never do.

From the moment he decided to become a surgeon.

Jun-hoo’s top priority was always the patient.

He was even prepared to shake hands with the devil if it meant alleviating the patient’s pain.

I’m going to have another new experience today.

As he got closer to the operating room, his heart raced with anticipation and excitement.

This scrub was for a finger replantation surgery.

It was a surgery Jun-hoo really wanted to observe.

An emergency patient had come in through the emergency room 30 minutes ago.

The patient was a woodcrafting professional.

While using a chainsaw, two-thirds of his left index finger had been severed.

In the Murim world [a world of martial arts and cultivation], patients with severed body parts had no choice but to give up on the severed limb.

Even with their great internal energy, they couldn’t reattach severed body parts.

But modern times with developed medicine were different.

Even without internal energy, severed body parts could be miraculously reattached.

Arriving at the operating room, Jun-hoo grabbed a surgical gown from the changing room and put it on.

Scrub. Scrub. Scrub. Scrub.

He scrubbed his hands, fingers, and forearms with a povidone-iodine solution-soaked brush, and with the help of a nurse, he put on gloves and a gown.

Weeeeng.

After air showering, he entered the operating room.

Jun-hoo prepared the surgical tools with the circulating nurse.

“Nurse, how long does microsurgery usually take?”

Jun-hoo asked the circulating nurse.

“For a patient like today, it will probably take about 6 hours. It’s going to be very boring for you.”

“…….”

“Be careful not to fall asleep.”

“Why?”

“It’s simple. There’s nothing for you to do.”

The circulating nurse continued to explain.

Unlike other surgeries, there was nothing for the intern to do in finger replantation surgery.

“Don’t I even do suction, traction, or irrigation (saline rinsing)?”

“No. You don’t even do that. It’s a surgery that is greatly affected by even the slightest touch.”

“Hmm. Time won’t pass if I’m just handing over surgical tools.”

Jun-hoo was a little disappointed.

He wanted to participate in the surgery enthusiastically and actively.

The only downside to being an intern was that the scope of work was too narrow.

Jun-hoo, who had experienced the Murim world, had already far surpassed the level of an intern.

Clang. Clang.

A light metallic sound echoed in the operating room each time surgical tools were prepared.

Jun-hoo didn’t take the surgical preparation lightly either.

He thought about the purpose of the surgical tools being set up.

He questioned why these tools were needed.

He felt the texture as he held the surgical tools.

Just like the martial artists in the Murim world carefully chose their weapons.

Studying wasn’t a big deal.

It was about having interest and affection for a field of interest, constantly asking questions, and exploring.

“Doctor, they said the finger has arrived. Would you like to receive it?”

“Yes.”

At the nurse’s request, Jun-hoo moved to the operating room door.

Zhiiiing.

The door opened, and the operating room nurse handed Jun-hoo an envelope.

The envelope was double-sealed.

The plastic bag containing the finger.

It was wrapped once more in a plastic bag filled with ice water.

The patient’s finger arrived before the patient himself…

Jun-hoo thought this situation was quite bizarre.

It was a unique characteristic of finger replantation surgery.

“Doctor, here… Ah!”

The operating room nurse was startled as she handed the plastic bag to Jun-hoo.

The surgical glove slipped on the moisture-covered plastic bag.

She had accidentally dropped the plastic bag.

A situation where the finger could be secondarily damaged.

I can’t ruin the surgery so futilely!

Whoosh.

With the reflexes honed in the Murim world, Jun-hoo snatched the falling plastic bag in mid-air.

Applying the Golden Capture Hand technique.

“Phew~ I almost died. Thank you, Doctor. The plastic bag was a bit slippery.”

“You have to be careful. It would have been a disaster if you had dropped it.”

“I know. I’ll be more careful from now on. I’m sorry.”

The operating room nurse apologized and returned to her place, and Jun-hoo carefully placed the plastic bag containing the finger on the dressing cart.

This was the end of the surgical preparation.

* * *

Finger replantation surgery was definitely different from general surgery.

First of all, the chief surgeon was an elderly professor, and the first assistant was also a professor.

This was because the surgery itself was very difficult, and there were not many hand surgeons.

The patient was also different from general surgery.

Usually, patients are given general anesthesia for surgery, but finger replantation surgery only required local anesthesia on the severed area.

So, the patient was fully conscious even in the operating room.

-Doctor, will my finger be able to be reattached?

-The damage isn’t severe in your case. We will do our best to reattach it.

-I know it’s boring, but please stay still and don’t move.

There was even a rare scene where the patient and the chief surgeon had a conversation from time to time.

Finger replantation surgery was static.

While other orthopedic surgeries used hammers, saws, and drills to perform surgery in a loud and powerful manner.

Finger replantation surgery was performed by doctors sitting quietly and studying.

Also, the doctors’ eyes were not directed at the surgical site.

They only looked at the micro microscope that magnified the body 25 times and continued the surgery.

Amazing.

Both professors are using both hands freely.

The hand movements are also more precise and better than mine.

Jun-hoo couldn’t help but admire as he watched the surgery.

Originally, it was a situation where he couldn’t admire, because the intern didn’t have time to look at the micro microscope, but Jun-hoo could admire it.

This was because he amplified his eyesight with internal energy to partially compensate for the lack of vision.

The professors were restoring the patient’s finger bones, tendons, and muscles in order, and Jun-hoo gained a new realization from the scene.

It was about the charm of suturing.

Perhaps because he had wielded a sword in the Murim world.

Jun-hoo felt a great attraction to incision (simply cutting a body part) and resection (cutting and removing a body part).

He thought it was cool to cut and remove the problematic area with a scalpel.

But his thoughts changed a little while assisting with finger replantation surgery.

Suturing was also attractive enough.

The act of connecting non-functioning body organs and restoring them to normal.

That task required more concentration and more delicate skill than incision or resection.

Isn’t this clearly a part that I’m lacking?

He suddenly had that thought.

I need to master the Ambidextrous Skill quickly.

Incision and resection are enough with just the right hand, but suturing is a different story.

Using both hands is essential for microsurgery.

The excellent hand movements of the finger replantation surgeons were enough to stimulate Jun-hoo.

Perhaps that’s why.

Jun-hoo was burning with a spirit of challenge for the first time in a while.

As soon as possible.

He wanted to have the skills to surpass the professors in front of him.

“Dr. Lee, we’re going to anastomose [connect] the blood vessels now. Pay close attention.”

“Yes. Professor.”

“From top to bottom. Anastomose the palmar digital artery first, then the dorsal metacarpal artery, and then go to the vein.”

With the chief surgeon’s instructions, the most important blood vessel anastomosis began in the finger replantation surgery.

Anastomosis was a procedure to connect the two ends of a severed body part to each other.

Simply connecting a split body part is called suturing.

Of course, anastomosis was more difficult than suturing.

“…….”

Jun-hoo watched the blood vessel anastomosis process with bated breath.

-For a patient like today, it will probably take about 6 hours. It’s going to be very boring for you. There’s nothing for you to do.

The words of the circulating nurse who had prepared the surgery together were wrong.

Jun-hoo was already completely immersed in the surgery.

To compare the current situation to the Murim world, it was like this.

It was like watching the moves of masters with higher levels than himself right in front of his eyes.

When will I ever have such a good opportunity again?

Admiring and admiring again.

Jun-hoo, who was watching the surgery with great interest, suddenly took his eyes off the surgical site.

His eyes ached and throbbed.

He had been forcibly observing the surgical site that should have been viewed with a micro microscope using internal energy, and the aftereffects had come.

‘This might be dangerous?’

Jun-hoo took a quick breath and swallowed hard.

The chief surgeon was sweating profusely.

The problem was that a large drop of sweat that had formed near his eyebrow was about to fall into the chief surgeon’s eye.

The chief surgeon was anastomosing a very important and difficult micro blood vessel.

What would happen if tears got into his eyes?

He would surely feel a stinging pain and momentarily lose control of his hand.

As a result, there was a high probability that the blood vessel being anastomosed would be damaged.

When should I intervene?

I have to time it right.

Jun-hoo anxiously watched the surgical site and the chief surgeon’s sweat alternately.

Calling the chief surgeon who was in the middle of surgery would distract his concentration.

If he stayed still, the sweat would fall into the chief surgeon’s eye and an accident would occur.

An ambiguous situation where he couldn’t do either.

Jun-hoo focused his concentration and closely checked the progress of the surgery and the distance the sweat was moving.

Ssssh.

Now!

The moment the suture needle was heading towards the blood vessel.

The moment the chief surgeon briefly stopped breathing before exerting his concentration.

This moment was the perfect timing for Jun-hoo to intervene.

“Professor.”

“Haa… What’s wrong?”

The chief surgeon looked at Jun-hoo, exhaling the breath he had been holding back.

His expression couldn’t be seen because it was covered by a mask, but the chief surgeon’s eyes were saying this.

‘Are you crazy?’

If the patient had been under general anesthesia, he would have been cursed out a lot.

Saying, ‘What is an intern doing interfering in an important surgery?’

“I’ll wipe off your sweat for a moment.”

Jun-hoo used gauze to wipe away the drop of sweat that had reached the chief surgeon’s eye.

And he proudly showed the professor the sweat-soaked gauze.

There was a clear sweat stain on the gauze.

“…….”

The chief surgeon stared intently at the gauze before turning his gaze back to Jun-hoo.

No way.

This guy was watching my sweat? Moreover, the timing of calling me was perfect.

It was the timing when I stopped breathing and calmed my hands before the anastomosis.

Did he calculate all of this?

The chief surgeon was surprised by Jun-hoo’s performance.

You might say, ‘Why all the fuss over something so insignificant?’ but those people were the ones who didn’t know anything.

Jun-hoo removed the sweat that could have ruined a blood vessel without interfering with the anastomosis.

In short, he succeeded in catching two rabbits at once [achieving two goals with a single action].

From the chief surgeon’s point of view, this situation was bound to be surprising.

“Thank you. We overcame the crisis thanks to your quick wit.”

“It’s nothing. I just wiped off your sweat with gauze.”

“Originally, small things come together to create big things. Very well done.”

The atmosphere in the operating room became strange as the chief surgeon praised Jun-hoo.

The professor who was the first assistant.

The scrub nurse.

The patient who was undergoing surgery.

The three of them looked back and forth between the chief surgeon and Jun-hoo with bewildered expressions.

Because the three people didn’t know about the rapport between Jun-hoo and the chief surgeon and the trivial but important moment.

“Intern, what’s your name?”

“Seo Jun-hoo.”

“I won’t forget that name.”

The chief surgeon left a lingering impression with a soft voice.