Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 66

#66 Isn’t Thoracic Surgery a First? (14)

“Cough, cough.”

The patient keeps coughing.

It sounds like the cough is echoing from a deep cave.

Judging by his build, he must have been quite strong in his younger days, but it’s heartbreaking to see him suffering from this illness.

“You’ll get healthy again soon after the surgery.”

“Cough… Yes, thank you.”

Patient Kim Ha-jung barely managed a nod.

I took the patient to the thoracic surgery ward with Sodam.

“Another doctor will come and check on you. Please rest for a moment.”

“Yes…”

A moment later, I turned around after confirming that the patient was settled in a bed in the ward.

‘Let’s keep an eye on that patient, just in case.’

Of course, I wasn’t certain about anything.

There are dozens of patients to care for.

He wasn’t a particularly critical patient.

His vital signs were stable.

However, I felt I should keep an eye on him for the time being.

“Thanks for your help, Seon-ah.”

“No problem.”

I chatted with Sodam for a bit before we parted ways in the hallway.

“How’s internal medicine going, by the way?”

“It’s manageable. Dr. Kim Viper is being good to me too.”

“What?”

I was surprised.

Who is Kim Viper?

Isn’t he the viper, one of the infamous ‘three villains’ of the hospital?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say a kind word to anyone…

“Kim Viper is taking good care of you?”

“Yeah. He even bought me food last time.”

Wow…

Is this really Kim Viper?

Of course, it’s probably not just because she’s a woman. He didn’t spare harsh words for Yeonseo either.

Maybe he has a soft spot for cute types.

“Oh, right! Kim Viper was originally Mr. Kim Ha-jung’s doctor, and he asked me to tell you something.”

“Kim Viper did?”

“Yeah. He talks about you quite often.”

He talks about me?

I wonder what he usually says about me.

I doubt it’s anything complimentary.

“He told me to tell you this when he found out you were rotating through thoracic surgery this month.”

Sodam imitates Kim Viper’s angry eyebrows.

“If you mess up with the patient I was in charge of, I’ll kill you.”

“Pfft.”

I burst out laughing.

The hamster imitating a snake looks awkward.

It doesn’t suit Sodam’s cute demeanor.

“Okay. I’ll pay extra attention.”

“Okay. Fighting!”

Sodam clenched her small fist at me and disappeared.

She is cute, though.

Cute enough for even the Viper to be nice to her.

* * *

A little later.

I returned to the station and pulled up the patient’s X-ray.

[A fungal ball that develops in the lungs].

In simple terms, it’s a fungal infection in the lungs.

Do fungi only grow on food?

Of course, how wonderful would that be…

Unfortunately, it can also grow inside the body if the patient’s immunity is weakened.

“Are you looking at the X-ray of the patient who arrived on the electric cart earlier?”

Someone approached the station and tapped me on the shoulder.

It’s Dr. Ma Dong-seop.

I nodded.

“Yes. It’s my first time seeing an aspergilloma patient. I noticed he was coughing up blood severely when he coughed up phlegm earlier.”

“Right. Ultimately, surgically removing the aspergilloma is often the best solution.”

In the end, surgical operations can be divided into two types depending on the purpose of the surgery.

Resection surgery [Surgery to remove diseased tissue or organs].

Reconstruction surgery [Surgery to rebuild or restore damaged tissue or organs].

Lung surgery mostly falls under ‘resection surgery’.

And once it’s cut out, it never regenerates.

Of course, there are tissues in our body that can regenerate to some extent after being cut out.

For example, the liver.

However, the lungs are different.

After cutting out the damaged lung, the patient has to live the rest of their life with only the remaining lung tissue.

Therefore, it is important to remove only the necessary area without being too aggressive.

‘I want to get into the operating room…’

Then, Ma Dong-seop says as if he read my mind.

“Why? Eager to hold a scalpel?”

“Yes?”

“It’s written all over your face. You’re tired of being an intern. You want to cut out lungs already! If I just had a scalpel in my hand, I’d be flying around!”

Shuk shuk.

Ma Dong-seop gestures with a knife in the air.

No matter how you look at it, he resembles a gangster at times like that.

“Haha, don’t worry. You’ll be in the operating room all the time when you become a resident. Of course, if you specialize in thoracic surgery.”

That was exactly right.

Compared to the shortage of staff, thoracic surgery has more surgeries scheduled than one can imagine.

There are tons of surgeries scheduled for today alone.

* * *

The evening deepens in thoracic surgery.

Friday, 8 p.m.

Everyone has worked hard all week, so they’re eager to go home early today.

However, none of the residents or fellows can leave.

Wards are bustling.

Operating rooms are full.

Everything is running busily.

Especially today, there are many emergency surgeries, so almost all operating rooms are brightly lit.

And, at that time.

In the thoracic surgery, pulmonary and esophageal surgery ward.

Ma Dong-seop is kneeling and examining a patient’s chest drainage bottle with a serious expression.

“How much drainage has there been in the last 30 minutes?”

“180cc has been drained.”

“Hmm…”

Drop – Drop –

Bright red blood is accumulating in the bottle, drop by drop.

The patient’s complexion is also poor, and the heart rate is 110.

‘It’s been a little over 2 hours since the surgery ended… At this rate, I need to get him back into the operating room and investigate.’

Ma Dong-seop’s judgment was swift.

However, the professor who needs to make the final decision is currently in surgery.

What to do in this case?

You have to go directly.

Ma Dong-seop hurried to the operating room.

Beep –

Ma Dong-seop opened the operating room door with his foot.

Immediately, the sterile scene of the operating room comes into view.

Professor Talgoegi was completely absorbed in the surgery with Song Yu-ju.

He spoke very carefully so as not to be disruptive.

“Excuse me… Professor.”

“Is that Dong-seop? What is it?”

The professor speaks without looking up.

Ma Dong-seop quickly explained the situation briefly.

“The second surgery patient in room 4 today is bleeding more than 200cc per hour. I think we need a re-operation to control the bleeding.”

“What?! This patient has severe adhesions, so this surgery is already taking a long time.”

The professor’s annoyed response is heard.

It seems that the surgery is not progressing as smoothly as he would like.

Ma Dong-seop spoke tactfully.

“Then I’ll open another operating room with another resident first.”

“Okay.”

The professor gave his approval.

Tak tak –

Ma Dong-seop runs to the 9th-floor thoracic surgery ward and calls Ahn Gyeong-sik.

“Ahn Gyeong! We need to go into an emergency bleeding control operation, but we’re short-handed, so you have to come in as an assistant.”

“Yes? Me?”

“Who else is outside the operating room besides you?”

Ma Dong-sik yelled like a gangster.

Ahn Gyeong-sik looked distressed.

It’s understandable.

He already has his own tasks to handle, so it’s understandable that he’s upset about being asked to cover in the operating room as well.

There are always many situations like this in thoracic surgery, where there is a shortage of personnel.

[A situation where staff are constantly shifted from one area to another to cover shortages].

It’s a series of taking from one area to support another, and then taking from that area to support the first.

Ahn Gyeong-sik adjusted his thick glasses and said.

“But, senior… If even I go in, there will be no one outside? There are only interns left in the ICU and the ward.”

Ugh.

Ma Dong-seop quickly calculated in his head.

“Let’s see… The other operating room will be finished soon, so we only need to hold on for an hour. There are no patients in the ICU who need immediate attention right now.”

“Okay, I’ll arrange the surgery and prepare.”

“Okay, I’ll get the consent form and monitor the patient in the ward. Talk to the anesthesiology department and ask them to open the operating room as soon as possible.”

Tak.

Ma Dong-seop hung up the phone and hurried to move.

Ma Dong-seop, heading back to the ward, feels a slight sense of unease.

‘I have a bad feeling, hmm…’

[A situation where there are no senior doctors available to respond to emergencies].

Originally, it means a village without doctors.

However, ironically, this term is sometimes used inside hospitals.

A situation where there are no residents to turn to if something happens in the ward!

Even if it’s just for a moment, this situation happens about 2-3 times a year.

But, for some reason, I feel strangely uneasy today.

‘Well. Nothing will happen. What could happen in just an hour?’

However, Ma Dong-seop was overlooking something.

That the hospital is a place where something happens the moment you think nothing will happen.

* * *

8:40 p.m., a quiet ward.

I finished my intern duties and sat on the emergency stairs at the end of the ward to take a break.

It’s a place where I can catch my breath without being conscious of others.

Then, someone suddenly appears from behind and sits next to me.

“Hyung [An honorific term used by younger males to address older males], do you have a girlfriend?”

Oh my gosh.

I wondered who it was, but it’s Ryu Myeong-in.

It’s almost as nonsensical as a cow eating grass.

Why are you suddenly asking about someone else’s love life?

“No.”

“Then have you ever been in a relationship?”

“Wouldn’t I have?”

This is absurd.

What does this guy think of me?

It’s pointless to recount my love life from middle school to college.

There are many unusual stories among them.

Of course, we’re not close enough to have such personal conversations, so I answered appropriately.

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“I’m having a problem these days.”

“What problem… Could it be Song Yu-ju?”

“Shhh. Be quiet.”

His expression becomes serious.

I laughed in disbelief.

He’s making it so obvious to the world, how can I not know that he’s trying to keep it a secret?

This guy has a cute side to him.

“Why, what’s the problem?”

“I’ve been trying to win her over, but she doesn’t even look at me.”

“Deal with it yourself. You’ve been in a relationship before, right?”

Then Ryu Myeong-in says with a serious expression.

“I’ve been in relationships several times, but my level of thinking doesn’t align with ordinary people.”

“……”

“So I’m trying to meet someone who is superior like me. Wouldn’t Song Yu-ju be a good match for me?”

Cancel the cute part.

He’s still annoying.

I looked at him with a pathetic expression.

It would have been difficult for him to maintain a long relationship with that personality.

It’s obvious that everyone initially pursued him because of his handsome face, but ran away after experiencing his personality.

“You’ve never been in a relationship for more than a month, have you?”

“How did you know?”

How did I even start talking about relationships with this guy?

I shouldn’t have engaged in the conversation in the first place.

“Your fundamental personality is the problem, even before relationships.”

“What is it?”

“Do you have to ask because you don’t know?”

“Of course. How could there be a flaw in someone as perfect as me?”

“That’s it. What am I even going to discuss with you?”

“Ah, Seon-ah hyung. Tell me.”

Ryu Myeong-in followed me around.

It’s like having a love-hate relationship.

After being around this guy, I’m getting used to it.

He’s not a bad guy at heart.

He’s just a little clueless.

At that moment, the nurse from room 908 right next to the emergency stairs shouts and comes out of the room.

“Here! Help me!”

“……?!”