A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 81

Orthopedic Conference Room.

Professor Cho Jae-yun was listening to the notification about fasciotomy [surgical procedure to relieve pressure] from the residents. Unlike when he drove to the hospital, Jae-yun’s expression was much brighter.

‘Just thinking about that time makes me dizzy.’

An hour and twenty minutes ago, when he heard the news that a patient with acute compartment syndrome [a painful condition that occurs when pressure within the muscles builds to dangerous levels] had arrived.

Jae-yun felt a chill.

He had called the on-duty fellow [a doctor who has completed residency and is pursuing further training in a subspecialty], who was supposed to perform the surgery, near his house.

Originally, it was something he shouldn’t have done.

Originally, it was an action he wouldn’t have taken.

However, the on-duty fellow said he wanted to quit his training and complained of depression, so there was no other way.

Even if he was on duty, he had no choice but to call and comfort him…….

He could only hope that no emergency patients would occur…….

Fortunately, the on-duty fellow changed his mind thanks to Jae-yun’s comfort, but around that time, an emergency call came from the hospital.

Jae-yun immediately hung up the phone.

He drove his car and hurriedly moved to the hospital.

Being stuck at the traffic accident site was a bonus.

But did the heavens help?

When he arrived at the hospital late, he was told that the surgery was successful.

“Everyone suffered a lot because of me for no reason.”

“It’s not your fault, Professor. It’s because I was making a fuss.”

The on-duty fellow added a word to Jae-yun’s words.

“It’s not your fault. It’s not a sin that training is difficult.”

Jae-yun looked at the on-duty fellow sitting next to him with a soft gaze.

He also patted him lightly on the shoulder.

Jae-yun also knew well because he had experienced the fellow (clinical instructor) days.

The fellow was a grand title, but it was a position where he had nothing in his hands.

The number of surgeries increases exponentially.

Doing the professors’ thesis work.

Standing on duty, etc.

The problem was that even if you worked so hard, the professor’s position was not guaranteed.

“By the way, the person who diagnosed the patient was Jun-hoo?”

Jae-yun’s gaze shifted to Jun-hoo.

“Yes. Professor. If it wasn’t for Jun-hoo, it would have been a disaster. Because I wouldn’t have been able to do the surgery at all.”

“That’s right.”

Jae-yun nodded and continued.

“Acute compartment syndrome is an easy disease to miss, but how did you diagnose it?”

At Jae-yun’s question, the staff’s eyes were all focused on Jun-hoo.

Everyone knew that Jun-hoo had diagnosed acute compartment syndrome, but they were curious because they did not know the specific diagnostic process.

“That’s… First of all, I assumed the worst-case scenario.”

“Assuming the worst-case scenario…….”

“Yes. I thought that the worst disease that could occur in a patient who received treatment and had a cast in another orthopedic clinic was acute compartment syndrome.”

“…….”

“First of all, I continued the examination with that suspicion in mind. Sure enough. When I asked the patient to move his toes, the range of motion was narrow and he complained of pain.”

“If it’s a patient with a cast, you might have overlooked those symptoms?”

Jae-yun asked again.

There were still insufficient parts in Jun-hoo’s explanation.

“I can’t pinpoint it, but I also felt that the cast was too tight.”

“What’s next?”

“I thought it would be better to remove the cast even if it was cumbersome, so I disassembled the cast and measured the compartment pressure.”

Jun-hoo’s explanation was calm and logical.

Hard to believe he’s an intern.

Perhaps if he were a normal intern, he would have prescribed painkillers and sent the patient home.

[Assume the worst-case scenario.]

It seemed that one of Jun-hoo’s unique points was this way of thinking.

With this way of thinking, the examination will naturally become thorough and there will be no way to miss any of the patient’s symptoms.

‘So this friend is the one Professor Lee Dong-hoon is keeping an eye on.’

Jae-yun nodded silently.

Lee Dong-hoon, one of the Republic of Korea’s top three orthopedic surgeons.

Lee Dong-hoon said a while ago that he had discovered an interesting intern.

An intern came in for a scrub [surgical hand washing].

He was watching the surgery with sparkling eyes.

When I gave him a surgical hammer, he hammered the surgical screw in one go.

So he once said that if that intern chooses to major in orthopedics, he would like to raise him properly.

I didn’t hear the name, but it was easy to guess that the intern was Jun-hoo.

A gem in a bag.

A sharp awl will eventually pop out and reveal its existence.

“Jun-hoo also suggested an ultrasound examination at the end of the surgery.”

“An ultrasound examination?”

“Yes. The compartment pressure did not drop, so I wondered if I should call the professor.”

Myeong-ho continued.

“Jun-hoo suggested an ultrasound examination and found a hematoma [a solid swelling of clotted blood within the tissues] through the examination.”

“Huh…… amazing.”

There was a lot to say, but Myeong-ho stopped there.

He judged that praising Jun-hoo too much would not be good for Jun-hoo.

“Jun-hoo did a good job…… but Myeong-ho and Tae-woong, your contributions were also great. Myeong-ho performed the surgery instead of me, and Tae-woong helped Myeong-ho well.”

“No. Professor.”

“I didn’t really do anything.”

Watching the two people being humble, Myeong-ho continued.

“I’m grateful and sorry, so I’ll buy you midnight snacks today. How about pig’s feet?”

* * *

Orthopedic on-call room.

The staff of the medical office were eating pig’s feet and reminiscing about the fasciotomy.

The center of attention was, of course, Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo was the one who started the surgery.

Jun-hoo was also the one who decorated the end.

“I’ve never seen a kid like Jun-hoo. As soon as I saw him doing casts and splints, he followed suit.”

“…….”

“Not only that. There is a child patient named Geon-woo in the pediatric ward. He even caught the child being abused.”

“He has a colorful track record. In a good way.”

At Hyun-jin’s words, Myeong-ho stared at Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo was embarrassed and avoided his gaze.

He didn’t do it to receive compensation or praise from the people around him.

Jun-hoo was just the type of person who couldn’t ignore someone in pain.

That’s why he helped others.

If the patient becomes healthier due to Jun-hoo’s intervention, Jun-hoo is happy just with that fact.

“There is a unique disadvantage to Jun-hoo.”

“What is it?”

“Sometimes I think he’s out of his mind. He plays rock-paper-scissors by himself.”

“Huh? Rock-paper-scissors?”

“Yes. Jun-hoo, tell me yourself.”

Jun-hoo was embarrassed by Hyun-jin’s questioning.

He was learning the ambidextrous gourd technique to use his left hand well, but it seemed like a weirdo to the people around him.

“That’s… Is it a fight with myself?”

“A fight with myself?”

“Yes. When you play rock-paper-scissors with both hands, haven’t you ever wondered which side will win more?”

Jun-hoo smiled awkwardly and defended himself.

It’s a seriously poor excuse, but there was no way to explain the ambidextrous gourd technique.

“I don’t have one?”

“Me too.”

Myeong-ho and Hyun-jin answered with expressions that they couldn’t relate to at all.

Jun-hoo was even more embarrassed.

Gang Baek-tong [likely a reference to a character or concept related to unconventional martial arts].

Why did that weirdo make martial arts in this way and make people suffer?

“Hahaha. I was curious about that. So I sometimes test it.”

“Hmm…… I think I can understand Jun-hoo.”

Surprisingly, Myeong-ho took Jun-hoo’s side.

“Chief, are you serious?”

“Originally, geniuses are said to be eccentric. From that context, there’s nothing strange about it.”

“Still, this seems to be beyond the level of eccentricity.”

“You shouldn’t judge that from the perspective of the general public.”

While the two were arguing.

Jun-hoo openly practiced the ambidextrous gourd technique.

I didn’t know what to do.

Since I was treated like a weirdo, I thought I should practice without paying attention.

Depending on the interpretation, it might be better to have it publicized like this.

“Wow, now you’re openly playing rock-paper-scissors in front of us?”

Hyun-jin discovered Jun-hoo and clicked his tongue.

“I was curious about which hand would win again.”

“What’s the rock-paper-scissors win rate?”

“The left hand win rate is about 10-20%. If you add the right hand, it’s 100%.”

“If you think about it, it’s a game you can’t lose.”

Myeong-ho chuckled at Jun-hoo’s joke.

After a while, a spectacle unfolded in which Myeong-ho and Hyun-jin played rock-paper-scissors with both hands like Jun-hoo.

Of course, the two of them couldn’t play rock-paper-scissors properly.

You’ll know if you do it yourself.

How twisted your hands are when you play rock-paper-scissors with both hands.

How clumsy both hands are.

If you do it slowly, you can match the rhythm, but try to speed it up a little more.

You can have the experience of becoming a fool with your head and hands.

But it was right then.

Creak.

The person who opened the door to the on-call room and revealed himself was Dong-seok.

He seemed to have finally come to his senses after being subjected to the second muscle separation technique by Jun-hoo.

“…….”

Dong-seok’s face turned pale when he found Jun-hoo.

“You came just in time. I had something to talk about with my senior.”

Jun-hoo got up from his chair and continued.

“Let’s talk for a moment?”

* * *

In the conference room, Jun-hoo was facing Dong-seok.

The atmosphere between the two was cold and tense. It was created by the twisted bad relationship that had been going on.

“How is it? Do you feel awake after being hit directly?”

Jun-hoo asked in a cold voice.

Dong-seok had habitually assaulted his juniors and interns.

He even ambushed Jun-hoo from behind.

He deserved to be subjected to muscle separation technique.

“What the hell did you do to me? Why can’t I move my body and suffer?”

Dong-seok protested with an unfair expression.

“I don’t feel the need to explain it. Think about it yourself.”

“Eeeee! Do you think you’ll be safe after doing this? An intern dares to assault a resident?”

“Ha…… You don’t understand when I say it nicely. Then, is it okay for a resident to hit an intern?”

“I was unilaterally beaten by you.”

“Other interns were unilaterally beaten by you.”

Jun-hoo spoke informally to Dong-seok.

Seeing that he hadn’t come to his senses even after being hit like that, Dong-seok was hopeless.

When I thought about the comrades of the orthodox sect who tried so hard to rehabilitate and reform these types, I suddenly felt like crying.

Weeds must be removed.

It wasn’t something to be soothed.

“I don’t want to talk long, so I’ll get straight to the point. Don’t ever touch residents or interns again.”

“Who are you to tell me what to do?”

Dong-seok snorted.

“Just one month. Once your training period is over, the military discipline of the orthopedic department will return. I’ll make sure Hyun-jin is mentally prepared.”

“Try it if you can.”

“Why, are you going to train in another department and come to our department?”

Jun-hoo nodded instead of answering.

The moment he heard about Dong-seok’s assault.

Jun-hoo planned to find the orthopedic department as soon as possible and use muscle separation technique on Dong-seok.

That way, he could break the cycle of repeated assaults.

Jun-hoo doesn’t want it either.

There were also cases where problems could only be solved by force.

Just like now.

“You X bastard. You’re pretending to be so X righteous.”

Dong-seok gritted his teeth and continued.

“From my senior to me, we all trained while being beaten. What’s the big deal about that?”

“Don’t be mistaken. Just because you were beaten doesn’t mean you have the right to hit others.”

“You’re showing off because you learned some martial arts. I’ll definitely get revenge on you.”

“Do it now.”

“…….”

“Try it now.”

Dong-seok trembled as Jun-hoo glared at him fiercely.

The momentum he had been showing off until now had disappeared without a trace.

“Should I make you foam at the mouth and faint again?”

Jun-hoo took out a pen from his gown pocket with a fierce expression.

He wrapped the front of the pen with internal energy and threw it like a dart.

Whoosh.

Thud!

Surprisingly, the pen grazed Dong-seok’s face and was embedded in the wall.

Dong-seok’s face turned blue after confirming the pen stuck in the wall.

It must be hard to believe what just happened.

Thump. Thump.

Jun-hoo approached Dong-seok and casually pulled out the pen stuck in the wall.

Then, he lightly patted Dong-seok’s shoulder, who was terrified.

“Dong-seok, behave yourself.”