Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 126

#126 The Heart Beats (10)

“Shin Seon-han, can you feel his heart beating again?”

“Yes!”

“Then let go of his heart!”

At Master Poong’s words, I carefully released my hand.

Duguen, duguen—

The heart beats on my palm.

It has started to move on its own without me squeezing it.

It was a moment hard to believe even while seeing it with my own eyes.

“Blood pressure checks in at 84/60!”

The emergency medical technician says happily.

RBC (red blood cells) is at the 12th pack.

We’ve poured so much blood into him.

But now, it’s no longer pouring water into a bottomless pit.

Master Poong blocked the bleeding from the heart.

“Norepinephrine [a cardiotonic medication], CIV [continuous intravenous infusion], let’s start at 0.1 mcg/kg/min and gradually reduce it.”

“Yes.”

Following Master Poong’s instructions, the nurse adjusts the medication.

Have we put out the most urgent fire for now?

I carefully asked.

“Did we save him?”

“I don’t know yet. It’s not certain whether his mental state (brain activity) will return.”

Master Poong is right.

Three cardiac arrests.

That means there were times when oxygen was not supplied to the brain.

The brain often cannot return to normal once it is damaged.

So, there are many patients who live in a vegetative state even after the heart is revived.

“Well, still, the possibility of his mental state returning is high at this point. It’s all thanks to you bringing him to the hospital quickly.”

After saying that, Master Poong moved on to the next step.

“Shall we sew up the lung now?”

Sseueuk—

Master Poong carefully removed the gauze that had been covering the lung.

The injured left lung is repeatedly inflating and deflating in sync with the ventilator.

And every time it inflates, bloody foam comes up from the injured area.

The air and blood supplied to the lungs mix, constantly creating small bloody bubbles, like the foam you see when making coffee.

“Give me PDS [Polydioxanone suture, a type of absorbable suture] 4-0.”

“Yes.”

Sseueuk, sseueuk—

Master Poong rummages through the lung and begins to sew it up piece by piece.

Then, he suddenly said to me.

“Hey, Shin Seon-han, you saw what I’m doing now, right? You do the rest.”

“……!”

“I’ve stopped the bleeding, so the vitals will be stable for the time being. Think of it as something a little more difficult than peeling an orange and do it.”

Sew up the lung?

It was an unexpected suggestion.

I carefully asked back.

“Is it okay for me to do it?”

“Yeah, I used up all the energy I saved up sewing the heart earlier.”

Energy?

Suddenly saying something absurd…….

While I was dumbfounded, I quickly held out my hand to the nurse.

“Give me a needle holder.”

I wanted to sew it up with my own hands anyway.

Perhaps it was a desire as a doctor?

My hands had been itching because I had been watching from the sidelines since earlier.

I was grateful to Master Poong for giving me this opportunity.

“Don’t be too nervous, just do it. I’ll point out where you need to go in and where you need to go out.”

“Thank you.”

I started suturing according to Master Poong’s guidance.

‘Even though the patient’s vitals have returned, I can’t let my guard down yet. Let’s sew it up diligently just like Master Poong did.’

Sseueuk—

Ssak—

I moved my hands delicately.

The lung, which was inflating and deflating in sync with the patient’s breathing, had an unfamiliar texture.

Because it is a tissue containing air, it felt both soft and stiff.

‘Depending on the shape and texture of the tissue, the feeling when the needle goes in is all different.’

The first tissue I’ve ever sewn.

But my hands were able to adapt quickly.

Is it the result of the orange peel training?

My hands were much more flexible now than when I was practicing on neat silicone training tools.

Only then was I able to realize Master Poong’s intention.

‘The training I did for a whole month was effective.’

A con artist? A bluffer?

No.

Master Poong was indeed a master.

I felt a strong sense of trust in my heart and continued suturing.

“Good hands.”

Master Poong briefly commented on my suturing.

He was watching my hands as if he were supporting the back of a child who had just started riding a bicycle.

‘Come to think of it, there are many things I’m experiencing for the first time today.’

This was also a first.

An experience of suturing an organ inside a patient’s body.

And a living, breathing lung at that!

These are things that you can do after at least three years of residency.

I, an intern, am skipping several steps and experiencing such valuable things.

“Patient’s blood pressure and pulse have all returned to normal.”

Fortunately, good news is heard.

The emergency medical technician’s voice also became calmer.

Soon, a chest tube was placed inside the patient’s body, and now the final step remained.

“Shall we close the chest now?”

The cut surfaces of the muscles and skin layers that we had to suture were extremely messy.

Because it was a matter of life or death earlier, there was no time to pay attention to such things.

“Doctor, you cut this too recklessly…….”

“You rascal. Even if you open it roughly like this, the true master is the one who sutures it up beautifully when closing it!”

As the patient’s vitals returned to normal, Master Poong’s joking tone began to return.

“Okay. From now on, you just have to suture the same layers as I do. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Master Poong grabbed each of the three layers we had to suture with forceps and showed them to us.

Latissimus dorsi [the broadest muscle of the back].

Serratus anterior [muscle located on the side of the chest].

And the fascia [a band or sheet of connective tissue], just below the skin layer.

We had to find and suture each muscle with rolled-in sections.

‘Closing it is not easy either.’

These are all muscles that I learned about through anatomy in medical school.

But when I actually see it in practice, I don’t know what’s what.

For now, I have no choice but to glance at Master Poong and follow along.

“I’ll start from the chest, and you start from the back. Let’s meet like separated families reuniting.”

It meant to suture from both ends of the incision and meet in the middle.

Sseueuk, ssak—

I moved my hands.

I tried hard to follow along, glancing at Master Poong.

But, in the end, the reunion of separated families took place much closer to my side.

Because my speed was far behind Master Poong.

How can he sew so fast?

“Okay, we’ve sutured everything, and now only the final skin remains.”

This was also a new challenge.

Why?

Because of the large dragon tattoo that runs across the patient’s body.

Now the dragon’s waist is cut off.

If I sew it up wrong, the picture might look strange.

“Doctor, we need to match the shape of this tattoo well, right?”

“Of course.”

Master Poong glanced at me and said in a teasing voice.

“Be careful. If you don’t match that dragon tattoo properly, you might get stabbed by the patient next time.”

Tteoldeoldeol [onomatopoeia for trembling].

He says scary things so casually.

“Okay, this is how you sew it so that the knot goes inside.”

I started skin suturing following Master Poong.

Sseueuk, ssak—

Fortunately, thanks to the training I had, the dragon tattoo was almost able to find its place.

“Cut!”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Everyone, you’ve done a great job. It seems like the patient’s blood pressure is being maintained well. Is his mental state still not back?”

“Yes. The pupillary reflex is normal, but he’s not obeying [following the doctor’s instructions] yet.”

“Okay, let’s wait and see!”

Master Poong shouts loudly and unties the ribbon that tied his gown.

Surgery complete!

Everyone lets out a sigh of relief.

The surroundings are a mess.

An enormous amount of blood-stained gauze is piled up.

But within it, the patient was clearly alive.

‘Hoo.’

I let out a sigh of relief.

Soon, the nurses clean up the piles of gauze.

Master Poong takes off his blood-stained gloves and asks.

“Why the expression? Are you tired?”

“Of course.”

“Tsk tsk. You rascal! When I was your age, I worked 20 hours in the operating room and still flew around using Chukjibeop [a legendary Taoist skill of traveling great distances rapidly]! I ran around doing somersaults.”

Another bluff.

I chuckled and took off my gown and gloves.

Now I have regained the composure to laugh.

Master Poong laughed heartily and patted me on the shoulder.

“Go in and rest now.”

“No. I’ll watch the patient.”

“You rascal, what do you know how to do?”

“I’ll just watch to see if his mental state returns.”

“Will you?”

I nodded.

To be honest, I feel like I’m going to die from exhaustion.

I worked 24 hours yesterday and didn’t get much sleep.

I feel like I want to lie down on the floor right now.

But I felt like I would only feel relieved if I watched this patient’s recovery with my own eyes.

“If that’s the case, watch him here for a while. I’ll be outside seeing other patients, so come running to me immediately if there’s a problem.”

“Yes.”

I quickly helped the nurses with the cleanup.

After the surroundings were cleaned up, I dragged a chair from the corner of the recovery room and sat next to the patient.

“…….”

Bleep, bleep—

Shhh, shhh—

The patient is quietly asleep with an oxygen mask on.

It was strangely amazing.

That human life force.

To endure that rough surgery and have the heart beat like this again.

The heartbeat that I felt directly with my hands a little while ago is still vivid.

‘Let’s see. The heart rhythm seems stable without arrhythmia…….’

I checked the patient’s vitals one more time.

Of course, there are still many things to worry about.

Infection.

Additional bleeding.

Postoperative pneumonia.

Neurological complications.

And so on…….

It’s one mountain after another.

Since I urgently cut open a person’s body and sewed up the heart and lungs, there are many things to be aware of afterward.

‘Please recover.’

Of course, I don’t know this person.

Neither his name nor his age.

But he is the first patient whose heart I have touched.

I made his heart beat by massaging it with my own hands.

So, I had a strong desire to save him.

* * *

How long has it been?

15 minutes.

30 minutes.

1 hour…….

Drowsiness is pouring in.

I repeatedly dropped and shook my head next to the patient.

“What are you doing?”

When I turned my head, I saw Yeon-seo smiling.

I wiped the corners of my mouth.

“I dozed off for a moment.”

“Go in and rest.”

“No. I’m going to watch the patient wake up and then leave.”

“It’s not even your work day today…… Well, I knew there was no point in trying to stop you.”

At that time, Geun-wook and So-dam came in behind Yeon-seo.

It seems that Geun-wook also didn’t return to the dorm and was helping out in the emergency room.

“I told you, didn’t I? Wherever Seon-han goes, patients always follow like they’re attached to a magnet!”

“인정 (Injeong – 인정하다 means to acknowledge, to admit)”

I scratched my cheek awkwardly.

There’s no denying it this time.

Because he brought such a big incident on the last day.

Besides, an emergency thoracotomy [surgical incision into the chest wall]?

I didn’t know things would get this big.

“What happened? There were so many other patients earlier and I was so busy that I couldn’t hear properly.”

“That’s…….”

I explained the situation that happened at the seafood market.

Then Yeon-seo and So-dam’s eyes widened.

“Last time, you filmed a disaster movie at Gangnam Station, and this time, you filmed an action movie at Gokdam Market?”

“It’s an action movie, but the main character was Geun-wook.”

“Geun-wook oppa?”

“You guys should have seen it. He lifted a man with a knife and threw him about 3 meters? I thought he was the Hulk.”

“Wow.”

“Amazing.”

Yeon-seo and So-dam exclaim at the same time.

Then Geun-wook made a dumbfounded expression.

“Hey, what 3 meters, don’t say ridiculous things.”

“Was it 4 meters?”

“What do you take me for, a monster? You’ve been hanging out with Master Jangpoong and you’ve caught his bluffing.”

I chuckled.

Come to think of it, I’ve gotten a little better at bluffing in the past month.

It seems to be all because of Master Poong.

“Come to think of it, Geun-wook, are you not hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine, you rascal.”

“You might have been grazed by a knife while fighting.”

“Worry about yourself. How long are you going to keep guarding this place? Who knows when the patient will wake up?”

At Geun-wook’s words, I looked at my watch.

1 hour and a half after the end of the surgery.

It’s time for the patient to wake up now…….

Twitch—

At that moment, the patient’s hand moved.

I jumped up.

And carefully approached the patient and asked.

“Patient, can you hear me?”