Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 228

Fifth Vital Sign – Episode 228 (228/502)

228. Bones Melt in Decayed Pus

Kim Seong-hoon’s House –

“All done.”

Lee Ae-sook finished tidying up and turned off the kitchen light.

“Oh my. It’s already this late. I should go to bed.”

Her daughter, who had been helping, had already gone to bed, leaving her to finish the food preparation alone, so time had passed quickly. However, Lee Ae-sook didn’t look tired at all.

The fact that she would see her son soon, when day broke, made her feel incredibly happy beyond words.

“Our son is so handsome.”

“Oh my! What are you doing?”

“Mom! You scared me!”

Lee Ae-sook, who had been looking at her son’s picture in the family photo hanging in the living room with a satisfied expression, looked quite surprised.

“Why are you so surprised?”

The person who surprised Lee Ae-sook was her husband, Kim Oh-hoon.

He had come out to the living room because his wife hadn’t come to bed yet after he woke up.

“You startled me. You came out without making a sound.”

“I did make a sound. Anyway, aren’t you going to sleep? What time is it, and you’re still making food. Don’t make such a fuss and do it moderately.”

His words seemed blunt, but Kim Oh-hoon was also looking forward to his son’s first leave [vacation from military service] more than anyone else.

He was just expressing it indirectly because he was worried his wife might be tired.

“I’ve done everything moderately. There’s nothing more to do now.”

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course, I’m happy. Aren’t you happy?”

“Happy? It’s just the military that everyone goes to. It’s not like it’s such a big deal…”

“Is that why the person who set their phone background to a picture of their son after Seong-hoon went to the military?”

“I just did it. Don’t talk nonsense, and let’s go to bed early because we have to wake up early tomorrow.”

“Okay. I understand.”

The couple, who were talking about their son, turned off the living room light and were about to go into the bedroom when suddenly,

Rrrrrrrrrr

The ringtone of the cell phone in Lee Ae-sook’s hand rang harshly in the quiet living room.

“What is it? Who’s calling at this hour?”

“I know, right? It’s probably a spam call or something.”

“Don’t answer it if it’s something strange.”

At her husband’s words not to answer, she looked at the phone screen and saw an unfamiliar number.

“Hello?”

-I apologize for calling at this late hour.

The person who called was Captain Choi Tae-shik from the Baekseok Unit.

-Are you the mother of Private Kim Seong-hoon?

There is such a thing as a feeling.

It’s something that can’t be precisely defined or perfectly matched like a mathematical formula, but there are moments when people feel it instinctively.

Especially in matters between couples or concerning their children, such feelings are often manifested like superpowers, and this was one of those moments.

Instantly, a bad feeling washed over Lee Ae-sook like a receding tide.

The moment she heard the words ‘Private Kim Seong-hoon’ from a stranger’s mouth, she instinctively knew that something had happened to her son.

“Yes, that’s right. Did something happen to our Seong-hoon?”

She wanted to confirm it, but conversely, it was also the heart of a mother who didn’t want to confirm it.

‘Please… Please let it not be true.’

She prayed and prayed again in the fleeting moment of waiting for an answer.

May my son be safe, may nothing have happened. May he be alright.

May even a single strand of his hair be unharmed.

-Private Kim Seong-hoon is currently undergoing surgery in the hospital.

“……!”

Thud-

Instantly, Lee Ae-sook’s legs gave way, and she collapsed to the living room floor, dropping the phone in her hand.

“Honey!”

Surprised, Kim Oh-hoon grabbed his wife and sat down with her, quickly picking up the phone that had fallen on the floor.

“Hello? I’m Seong-hoon’s father. My wife was shocked and collapsed after talking to you. What happened?”

-Hello. This is Captain Choi Tae-shik. Private Kim Seong-hoon is currently undergoing surgery in the hospital. It seems you need to come urgently, so I called.

“Where is it? The hospital?”

Kim Oh-hoon asked in a calm tone for the hospital where his son was.

-It’s at Our Hospital. I’ll send you the detailed address in a text message after I hang up. I’m really sorry.

“Wait a minute!”

Lee Ae-sook snatched the phone from Kim Oh-hoon’s hand, who was about to hang up, and called out to Choi Tae-shik.

“Just one thing… Just tell me one thing. Is our Seong-hoon… is he very bad?”

She asked barely with trembling lips like an aspen, but the answer she heard shattered Lee Ae-sook’s heart.

-Yes, the situation is not good. I’m really sorry.

“Ah! Seong-hoon! Sob!”

“Honey!”

Click-

“Mom? What’s wrong?”

“Dad, what’s wrong with Mom?”

“Seong-hoon is in the hospital.”

Lee Ae-sook, who had hung up the phone, began to weep, and the family members who had been sleeping came out one by one and heard the news of their brother.

* * *

‘It’s an open abdominal surgery.’

Pus from inside the abdominal cavity was coming out through the instruments. It was sticky pus accompanied by a terrible smell.

“Laparoscopic surgery won’t work. I’ll open the abdomen. Scalpel, please.”

Judging that laparoscopic surgery was no longer possible, Tae-kyung quickly received the scalpel and made a long incision from top to bottom in the middle.

He opened the abdomen faster than usual. As soon as he opened it, he saw the abdomen full of pus.

“Suction!”

Tae-kyung said to Choi Mo-na.

Choi Mo-na had volunteered to assist today, saying she would assist Lee Chan-hee.

Since it was her older brother’s unit member, she was concerned and wanted to be of any help.

“I don’t know how appendicitis can become so severe like this.”

“Right. This patient must have been in a lot of pain. Well, it’s the military, so there must have been inevitable shortcomings in dealing with it.”

“Yes, I think so too.”

Tae-kyung’s words were correct.

She had once heard these words from her older brother, Choi Tae-shik.

Even if the military is a systemized and discipline-oriented organization, not everything can be perfect.

In particular, soldiers’ health issues are even more difficult to manage and supervise.

The biggest problem was the major [medical specialty].

It’s not the case for everyone, but there were occasionally military doctors who saw other treatments completely unrelated to their major.

In fact, this issue had even been raised in the news, but the reality still didn’t seem to be changing much.

The problem is that there are cases where the symptoms of soldiers in urgent situations are missed.

So, Choi Tae-shik was always struggling when this happened.

“See here? Let’s follow it from the small intestine.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

Tae-kyung holds a part of the long small intestine and follows it one by one.

Compared to the thickness of a normal small intestine, which is about the size of one finger, Kim Seong-hoon’s small intestine was swollen to about the size of three fingers.

The small intestines, which were light pink, were stained with bright red inflammation, and some places were rotten black.

“Pus is this scary. Bones melt in decayed pus. Not to mention the small intestine…”

“Yes, it’s really too severe.”

Tae-kyung was carefully separating the small intestine, which had become stubbornly attached to other organs due to the pus, while looking at it.

“Oh! Here!”

“There was a perforation in the small intestine as well. But it wasn’t visible on the CT scan, was it?”

“It seems to have been attached to the appendix area, so it wasn’t more visible because it was non-contrast, but even so, it’s too severe. Let’s cut off some of the large intestine and the perforated small intestine and the rotten area above the appendix.”

“The surgery has become very big.”

“Of course, it would be nice if it healed without cutting, but we have to go for sure. It’s better than having problems later. I don’t know how deeply it’s rotten, and it’s better than opening the patient’s abdomen again later.”

Tae-kyung held the bright red small intestine and the black intestine in the middle. And he decided to cut 10cm of the intestine, 5cm on both sides.

The inflammation was so severe that it was an unavoidable choice.

The artery that supplies nutrients to the small intestine spreads in a circle from the center.

The arteries in the problematic area are tied with thread one by one.

It is, of course, good to prevent bleeding in this process.

The starting and ending points of the artery are tied tightly with thread, and the 10cm section is repeated while carefully removing the surrounding spread-out fat.

“Give me the intestinal clamp. Choi Mo-na?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Hold that and you reduce the intestine from both sides. And place the intestines to be cut and attached side by side… Yes. That’s how you do it.”

The two parts of the small intestine to be connected are placed side by side using a thick, pincer-shaped intestinal anastomosis stapler [a surgical tool used to connect two sections of intestine].

Then, the intestine to be connected is inserted between the pincers, and the intestine and intestine are carefully aligned so that the boundaries match.

Because the other part of the small intestine to be connected may be perforated by the instrument, the boundary is carefully matched while pulling the intestine.

Click- Drrrrrrr

The instrument is used to attach the small intestine to be connected, and the connection area is sutured again with thread to supplement it.

Each one is done carefully, but strongly so that there is no leakage at the boundary.

However, if it is too strong, blood will not flow, so it must be pulled appropriately. This was also purely a matter of feeling.

“Wouldn’t it be okay to just suture that perforated part?”

“Oh. I’ll do that. Give me vicryl (absorbable suture) [a type of suture that the body absorbs over time].”

The small intestine, which had a hole because it was in contact with the appendix, was sutured by clumping the small intestine around the hole back and forth. This is because it is treated with only primary sutures.

“Okay! I’ll irrigate the inside of the abdomen (irrigation, washing the lesion with saline or disinfectant, etc.).”

“Yes, how much are you going to do?”

“Give me 8L.”

“Okay.”

In the field of vision that Tae-kyung was looking at, the stool that should have been inside the small intestine and the pus full outside the small intestine were seen disorderly. This was not something that would settle down if you waited from the beginning.

Rather, it was fortunate that the patient’s consciousness was lowered.

Otherwise, the patient would have felt that much more pain.

It was rather fortunate that the abdomen was opened now.

“Dr. Jung. Is the patient’s blood pressure okay now?”

“Systolic is around 75. They are being transfused now. And urine is coming out little by little, although it’s very little.”

“Really? Ah! That’s a relief.”

Tae-kyung’s expression softened at the words of Dr. Euijin.

It was really fortunate that urine was coming out. No, beyond fortunate, a feeling of gratitude arose from within.

‘Thank you so much.’

Now is the time to grab the patient by the scruff of the neck and pull him out of the River Jordan [a metaphor for a near-death experience]. And the possibility of that beginning was seen.

This was also really fortunate.

All patients are precious, but when a young patient lying on the surgery bed is wandering on the verge of death, the doctor’s heart is more painful and desperate.

Tae-kyung pledged and pledged again that he would do his best to ensure that our soldiers, who endure that painful time of endurance by the power of the country, return safely to their mothers.

“Oh my! This. The water is too cold. Give me warm water.”

“I’m sorry.”

Tae-kyung, who closed the abdominal wall by matching it layer by layer, finished the serious surgery.

‘Yes, this is it!’

The corners of Tae-kyung’s mouth were slightly smiling inside the mask.

This is because the smell of formalin [a chemical used for preservation], the fifth vital sign that filled the operating room, had disappeared.

Of course, it was simply a step down, but the mind was much lighter because the critical situation had been overcome.

Tae-kyung always fights with all his might against the disease that the patient has. That was the same for not only himself but also all the medical staff.

The more critical the patient is, like Kim Seong-hoon today, the more desperately he wanted to catch the disease than usual.

‘You worked hard. Patient.’

Especially since it was a case where he could have died, he wanted to save him even more, and he was so proud and grateful to the patient who had overcome the crisis.

“Our young soldier patient has had a lot of trouble. Everyone worked hard.”

“You worked hard.”

“You suffered.”

“……!”

“Doctor? What’s wrong?”

Tae-kyung, who had finished the surgery and finished the orders for the patient, stopped while looking at Kim Seong-hoon after saying goodbye.

Choi Mo-na asked while looking at the figure, but when there was still no movement, Euijin asked this time.

“What’s wrong? Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s not that, but what about that thing?”