Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 124

#124 Heart’s Beating (8)

Oh my god.

I couldn’t believe my ears.

What did I just hear?

‘An open thoracotomy right here, right now…’

Open thoracotomy.

Cutting open the chest with a knife.

The only place in the world where such a medical procedure usually takes place is:

The .

That’s why most doctors rarely get to witness an open chest surgery in their lifetime.

‘But to do it in the emergency room?’

Is he bluffing?

Probably.

He’s probably just spouting nonsense as usual.

It seemed like everyone in the emergency room, including me, thought the same thing.

“D-Doctor. Are you going to open his chest here?”

The nurses asked in trembling voices.

It’s a joke, right?

Please tell us it was just nonsense!

That’s the expression on their faces.

But Doctor Pung’s expression was more serious than ever.

“We’ve been practicing EDT [Emergency Department Thoracotomy] setups for times like these.”

At that, even the middle-aged nurses turned pale.

And for good reason.

No matter how many ups and downs they’ve experienced in Gokdam Emergency Room, they’ve never opened a patient’s chest before.

“Get the drape ready and bring the thoracotomy set! Prepare suction and a Bovie [electrocautery device]!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Tada-da-

The few emergency medical technicians and nurses began to move busily.

In an instant, various supplies were moved next to the patient.

Right now, adrenaline is pumping through the bodies of all the medical staff in this emergency room.

Everyone is frantically making their own preparations, each uttering a word.

“Doctor Pung, are you sure about this?”

“Are you really going to do it?”

“Honestly, it’s been a long time since you’ve done thoracic surgery!”

“If something big goes wrong, our emergency room will end up like the hospital next door!”

“Ah, stop worrying and just get the preparations right!”

The voices rise.

Thanks to that, the emergency room becomes even more chaotic, like a marketplace.

In the meantime, the patient’s blood pressure does not exceed 70.

Another dose of epinephrine is injected.

‘Wait, but…’

I think I heard something strange from the nurses just now.

Doctor Pung hasn’t done thoracic surgery in a long time?

‘Does that mean Doctor Pung used to be a TS surgeon (thoracic surgeon)?’

I was confused.

But why is he working as an emergency medicine doctor now?

No, wait a minute.

That’s not the important thing.

Anyway, the very fact that there is a TS surgeon in this place is important.

‘If so… it means there’s at least a small chance of saving this patient!’

The current situation is desperate.

Because the bleeding continues with a hole in the heart.

However, if you perform a thoracotomy, there is a way.

Instead of just poking around from the outside, you can directly attack the heart.

In other words, you can find and solve the root cause.

“Doctor. How can I help?”

I asked, stepping forward.

Then Doctor Pung replied confidently.

“Just follow my instructions and don’t worry! It’s an EDT I’ve done hundreds of times.”

Hundreds of times?

That’s definitely a lie.

But in his confident voice, without a hint of hesitation, I saw hope.

I saw hope that if I trusted and followed this person, I might be able to save the patient.

‘Okay, let’s trust him!’

I steeled my heart.

This is an opportunity.

For the patient, and for me.

“You, the other three interns!”

Doctor Pung pointed to my fellow interns, Sodam, Geunwook, and Yeonseo, and said.

“You guys take care of the other patients outside. This patient isn’t the only emergency patient.”

“Yes!”

“I can only focus on this patient if you take responsibility for the remaining patients. And…”

Doctor Pung quickly added, as if he had suddenly thought of something.

“If this patient’s family comes, don’t let them near this area.”

Gulp.

The three nodded with nervous expressions.

That’s what Doctor Pung’s words meant.

“And you, get in position with me and disinfect the patient.”

“Yes!”

I moved quickly according to Doctor Pung’s words.

Quickly positioning the patient, disinfection began.

Whirr, whirr, whirr-

Doctor Pung opened a bottle of povidone (a disinfectant for external wounds) and poured it all over the patient’s chest.

Soon, the patient’s left chest was stained brown.

This is the first time I’ve seen such a rough disinfection.

That also means there’s not much time to spare.

Soon, Doctor Pung’s mouth opened quickly.

“Shin Seonhan, come in as the first assistant to my opposite side. Emergency Medical Technician Park will come in as the second assistant.”

“?!”

I was startled.

First assistant?

And even calling me by my full name for the first time.

To me, who was momentarily surprised and paused, Doctor Pung shouted once again, putting on his surgical gown.

“What are you doing, are you just going to stand there and watch the patient die? Hurry up and gown up and come in!”

“…Yes, I understand!”

I answered in a dreamlike voice.

Get a grip!

I can’t afford to be out of it right now!

I shook my head vigorously.

The patient was showing a decreased response to epinephrine administration.

It was a situation where it was difficult to maintain blood pressure with just fluid and medication administration.

So there was no time to hesitate.

‘To jump so many levels so suddenly…’

Surgical first assistant.

It was a role I might be able to play in a few years.

Because it is a position that can only be held after a lot of experience in surgery.

But, me, a mere intern?

It’s like…

The guy who was cleaning the bench at the baseball stadium suddenly picks up a bat and goes to the plate.

And that’s in the bottom of the 9th inning, in a desperate situation.

‘But Doctor Pung’s judgment is right. Right now, I have no choice but to play this role!’

Thump, thump.

My heart beats wildly.

Is this what it feels like for a baby lion who is pushed off a cliff as soon as he learns to walk?

At that moment, the nurse hands me a gown.

“Doctor, here’s your gown!”

“Yes.”

Swish-

I put my body into the blue gown.

Soon, the nurse ties the knot of my gown behind my back.

In the meantime, I quickly unfolded the surgical gloves and put them on my hands.

Now my upper body is in an aseptic state.

I have been given the qualification to participate in surgery in the field.

‘Focus, Shin Seonhan!’

From now on, my hands are surgical hands.

You can’t just touch anything carelessly like usual.

For example, even if I unconsciously touch my face, it will be contamination and I’m immediately out.

Of course, you can’t lower your hands below your waist.

You can’t touch your back either.

That’s why the doctors participating in the surgery always hold both hands straight in front of their upper body.

‘My position is…’

Click-

I quickly walked to the opposite side of Doctor Pung.

Surgeon | Patient | First Assistant

Nurse | | Second Assistant

This is how the arrangement is usually made.

Of course, it varies from situation to situation, but this is the basics.

As I took my place on the opposite side, Doctor Pung shouted.

“Everyone, focus from now on!”

Clap, clap!

Doctor Pung clapped his hands.

The usual ‘gathering of energy’.

But this time it’s a version with all the playfulness removed.

With the rising tension, cold sweat flowed down the bridge of my nose under my mask without me knowing.

“Scalpel!”

Doctor Pung received a scalpel from the nurse and asked me.

“Shin Seonhan. Do you have any experience in the operating room?”

“…Yes.”

I nodded.

I worked as a surgical room intern in neurosurgery last month.

Of course, at that time, I only performed simple tasks.

This is the first time I’ve been given such an important mission.

So I couldn’t help but be nervous.

“Just do what I tell you to do. Got it?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Doctor Pung’s tone is different from usual.

I feel a murderous intent beyond seriousness.

It sounds like .

‘Wait. But…’

I was surprised to see Doctor Pung wearing a surgical cap, mask, and surgical gown.

Because the sight was so familiar.

‘I finally remembered! I’ve been wondering where I’ve seen this person before…’

More than 10 years ago.

The Baekui Sin documentary [referring to a famous surgeon, Baekui Sin, and a documentary about him].

The video I watched over and over again when I was young.

I definitely saw Doctor Pung in it.

Doctor Jang Pung.

He was definitely a thoracic surgeon belonging to the Baekui Sin surgical team.

Of course, he didn’t have long hair or a beard back then.

But now that I cover my face with a mask and surgical cap, I finally remember.

‘Why is someone who worked under Baekui Sin here?’

I don’t know why.

But anyway, it’s like a godsend for the patient.

Doctor Pung worked with Baekui Sin?

That means-

He is one of the top 1 percent of talented people in Korea.

‘He’s not just an ordinary thoracic surgeon. He’s Baekui Sin’s disciple, not anyone else… then the chances of this surgery succeeding increase.’

Beep, beep, beep-

No sooner had I finished thinking than the patient’s heart stopped again.

It was when Doctor Pung’s scalpel was about to cut the patient’s chest.

“It’s arrest (cardiac arrest) again!”

“Rhythm is checked as V. fib [ventricular fibrillation]!”

“Did you put on the defibrillation pads?!”

At Doctor Pung’s words, the nurse hurriedly went under the drape and attached the pads to the patient’s body.

One under the right clavicle.

One behind the left back.

“Charge 200J, everyone get away!”

Beep beep beep-

The patient’s body is jolted roughly as electricity flows through it.

Soon, the patient’s heart rhythm is seen again as a normal waveform on the monitor.

For now, I was able to revive the heart like that.

But it’s already the second arrest.

From now on, there was no room for delay.

“Give epinephrine (cardiac stimulant)! Bring the RBC (red blood cells) that just arrived and push it in with an infusion pump (infusion pump)! It’s a volume problem after all!”

Soon, Doctor Pung’s hand holding the scalpel began to move at a terrifying speed.

“Hey! Hold the suction in one hand, grab the forceps in the other and pull in the opposite direction as me! I mean you, Shin Seonhan!”

Doctor Pung’s words became even faster.

“Nurse Kim, put a headlight on my head!”

The war begins.

From the moment you put on your surgical gown, the disinfected patient’s chest is a battlefield.

Surgeons call this .

A space isolated from the outside.

In that space, we were moving fiercely and roughly according to Doctor Pung’s instructions.

Swish-

Doctor Pung drew the scalpel.

He cuts the patient’s left chest about 30cm.

Unstoppable hand movements!

It wasn’t the skill of someone who had only cut a person’s body once or twice.

Soon, blood flowed out and wet the bed, and bright red muscles were greatly exposed between the incisions.