Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 239

Five Vital Signs-Episode 239

239. I Take All Responsibility

-I heard it’s a patient with a stab wound to the abdomen?

“Yes, a female patient with a stab wound to the upper abdomen was brought in by 119 [Korean emergency services number].”

-Really? What’s her current condition?

Since it was a patient who arrived while Tae-kyung was in surgery, he hadn’t seen the patient yet.

“Well, currently the depth is at the muscle layer, so we took a CT scan, but there are no findings suggestive of perforation, so we’re waiting for suturing after gauze packing. Ah! Yes. I’ll be right there.”

“Why? Is the professor asking you to come?”

“Yes, he said the surgery is taking longer than expected and asked me to come for a bit. I’ll be back.”

“Okay, see you later.”

As Lee Chan-hee rushed out after receiving a call from Tae-kyung in the operating room, Lee Han-soon, who was lying on the bed, opened her mouth.

“D-Doctor?”

But she spoke in such a small voice that it wasn’t conveyed to Lee Chan-hee, who was hurrying out.

“Ugh!”

In fact, Lee Han-soon was starting to feel a slight pain in her stomach. But the fight with her husband wasn’t over yet, so she couldn’t bring herself to make weak noises.

No matter what, she was in pain, but she felt like none of this mattered. Her pride was hurt even by talking to her husband, so Lee Han-soon didn’t want to.

“Ah……. Ah! Ugh! H-Hello?”

Lee Han-soon, who was groaning, barely called out to a nurse who happened to be near the bed in a trembling voice.

“Nurse.”

“Yes, patient, are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“My stomach… my stomach hurts so much.”

“Patient, it hasn’t been long since you had a painkiller, are you in a lot of pain?”

The nurse’s words weren’t wrong. In fact, Lee Han-soon had complained of pain, and a painkiller had been administered accordingly.

“Yes, it feels like it’s getting worse.”

“Excuse me?”

Kim No-dam, who had been quietly watching his wife and the nurse talking from a short distance, quietly called the nurse and got up from his seat.

“Yes?”

“Could you ask the doctor about my wife one more time? My wife keeps saying she’s in pain.”

“Yes. But on the CT scan you took earlier, there was no organ damage, so it’s not an emergency. Of course, it’s natural that you’re in pain because your abdominal muscles are exposed, but currently……”

“I understand what you’re saying.”

Kim No-dam cut off the nurse’s explanation, which she was giving slowly and understandably, and reiterated his opinion.

“Of course, you know better than us. You’re the expert. But look. She’s in so much pain. I’m just asking you one more time.”

“Ah, yes……. I understand.”

Meanwhile, at the same time that the nurse was finishing her conversation with the Lee Han-soon and Kim No-dam couple, Lee Chan-hee and Tae-kyung were coming out of the operating room.

Rrrrrrrr

Lee Chan-hee quickly answered the phone as it rang.

“Yes, this is Lee Chan-hee.”

-Doctor, this is the emergency room. I’m calling about the patient Lee Han-soon.

“Yes, the stab wound patient from earlier? Of course, it hurts. She was stabbed pretty deep……”

-She keeps complaining of pain, and her husband is worried, so he contacted you to do something about it.

“Just give her a painkiller for now. Yes. Do that.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

Tae-kyung, who was taking off his cap as he came out of the operating room, asked.

“The patient with the stab wound to the upper abdomen that I reported earlier is complaining of pain, so I told them to give her a painkiller.”

“A painkiller? Why?”

“Yes?”

Lee Chan-hee was momentarily flustered when he heard the question ‘why’ in response to his statement that he had prescribed a painkiller because the patient was complaining of pain.

“Not ‘yes,’ but why did you do that?”

“Ah, yes. The patient is currently in pain, so……”

“Right. But I’m asking what basis you had for giving her a painkiller.”

“……”

Lee Chan-hee couldn’t understand Tae-kyung’s question.

Tae-kyung, with a slightly stern expression, wasn’t just taken aback but started to speak slowly, as if explaining to a child, because of his junior’s lost expression.

“Chan-hee?”

“Yes? Professor.”

Tae-kyung almost laughed at Lee Chan-hee’s suddenly serious expression.

“Listen carefully. When we give a painkiller, we first need to think about whether it’s okay to give it. In other words, it shouldn’t harm the patient. Right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“The harm from painkillers can be due to the drug itself, but more importantly, it’s whether the pain can be masked by the painkiller. That is, you need to know whether this is a situation where you can just give a painkiller and be done with it, or whether other tests or treatments are needed.”

“Ah! Of course. But Professor, the patient’s CT scan earlier……”

“Right, are you finally saying what I want to hear? If there’s nothing special on the CT scan, is it okay?”

“……!?”

“Is that really the case?”

“……!”

Lee Chan-hee’s eyes widened as if he had just realized something big.

“Ha! I’m sorry, Professor.”

“Okay. Go check on the patient and call me again. Unlike doctors in other departments, our department should never make a judgment without seeing the patient directly. We need to prioritize seeing and judging with our own eyes before tests or images. That’s because we’re more accurate when we’re by the patient’s side. Experience and facts show that. Keep that in mind!”

“Yes! I’ll go back, do a physical exam and interview, and contact you.”

“Go quickly.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Dr. Lee seems to be on a roll these days.”

Ui-jin said with a pleased expression as he watched Lee Chan-hee run out of the operating room hallway.

“Really?”

“Yes. Before, it felt like he could only understand and move when a senior put a spoon in his hand [needed very specific instructions]. But these days, it feels like he understands and follows along perfectly just by hearing how to hold the spoon. Dr. Lee has grown a lot.”

“He’s doing well.”

“Right? Dr. Lee and Dr. Choi are both working so hard these days. So please give them some praise sometimes.”

“They still have a long way to go. If I praise them for no reason, Chan-hee’s personality will loosen up again.”

“That’s true. Professor, aren’t you a little hungry?”

“I am. I get hungry after surgery in the evening these days. Should we have a cup of ramen [instant noodles]?”

“Sounds good.”

Tae-kyung and Ui-jin, who had finished the surgery, headed to the cafeteria to satisfy their hunger.

* * *

“Patient?”

Lee Chan-hee, who had rushed straight to the emergency room from the operating room, headed straight for Lee Han-soon’s bed.

“Patient Lee Han-soon?”

“……Yes.”

Lee Han-soon was answering with a grimace.

“Oh! Dr. Lee, is the surgery over? I was just about to give her a painkiller.”

“No. Wait a minute. Don’t give her the painkiller yet.”

“Yes?”

“I said don’t give the patient a painkiller.”

Lee Chan-hee stopped the nurse just as she was about to give the painkiller.

“Doctor? I’m so… in pain.”

“Patient, are you in more pain now than when you first came to the hospital?”

“Yes……. It hurts more.”

Lee Chan-hee began to examine Lee Han-soon, checking her carefully.

“Where does it hurt? Can you point to the painful area with your fingertip?”

“H-Here. This part hurts.”

Lee Han-soon pointed to the area around her solar plexus where she had stabbed herself. Immediately, Lee Chan-hee, who was watching the scene, pressed down on the area she had pointed to.

“Aaaagh!!”

Immediately, a scream erupted. Hearing the sound, Lee Chan-hee took his hand off her abdomen.

“Ugh! Aagh!”

Lee Chan-hee’s expression was gradually darkening as he saw what was happening.

“Patient, just a moment.”

After the physical examination, Lee Chan-hee left the bed for a moment, took out his cell phone, and quickly made a call.

“Professor. It’s me.”

-Oh, yeah. What happened?

“I just finished the physical exam, and I’m seeing rebound tenderness and muscle guarding. Therefore, peritonitis [inflammation of the peritoneum] is suspected, and even if there are no specific findings on the CT scan, intra-abdominal damage is suspected.”

Lee Chan-hee informed Tae-kyung of the medical findings he had identified through the examination in a clear and distinct voice.

-Really? So what do you want to do?

“I think we need to operate to check if there is any intra-abdominal damage and whether peritonitis has been caused by the damage.”

-Are you sure?

“Yes, Professor. I’m sure.”

-Really? Do you need any other tests?

“No, I think it would be more helpful to the patient to have surgery as soon as possible.”

-Okay. Who is responsible for this decision?

“I am responsible for everything.”

As soon as Lee Chan-hee’s confident answer ended, an even more confident statement came back.

-No. It’s on me. I entrusted that patient to you, trusting you. I take all responsibility.

“Professor……”

-I’ll take all the responsibility even if the patient complains later. So don’t worry about that.

“Thank you.”

-There’s nothing to thank me for. I think your judgment is right. So it’s no longer just your opinion. It’s my opinion and my decision. So don’t worry, trust me, stick to your guns, and persuade the patient to have surgery.

“Yes, I understand. Um, Professor?”

Lee Chan-hee called out urgently to Tae-kyung, who was about to hang up.

-Why? Is there anything else you want to say?

“No, it’s not that. I’m really happy to be able to learn from you, Professor. I always think that you’re cool and admirable in many ways, both as a doctor and as a person.”

-Chan-hee?

“Yes?”

-That’s too much. Too much. These days, I haven’t been giving you homework, so you’ve been slacking off a lot? Should we try doing homework again without any time to sleep?

“Ah, no.”

-Then stop talking nonsense and go persuade the patient quickly!

“Yes, I will right away.”

Lee Chan-hee, who had been energized by Tae-kyung’s words, approached Lee Han-soon again as soon as he hung up the phone.

“Patient, based on the physical examination I did a little while ago, I suspect that the extent of your current pain indicates damage to your internal organs.”

“Yes……”

“So I think we need to operate to see the condition inside.”

“Yes!? Surgery? Why? I don’t want to?”

Lee Han-soon was very surprised and refused when she heard that she needed surgery.

“Patient, it seems that there is inflammation in the abdominal wall due to damage to the internal organs. In this case……”

“Excuse me, Doctor?”

Lee Han-soon began to assert her opinion before Lee Chan-hee could finish his explanation.

“I don’t know. And this isn’t right. You said earlier that there was nothing wrong on the CT scan. Why are you suddenly saying I need surgery when you were just leaving me alone when I said it hurt so much? Huh?”

“No, that’s not it. Patient.”

“What do you mean it’s not it?”

As Lee Han-soon’s tone became increasingly irritated, her husband, Kim No-dam, who had been sitting a little further away, raised his voice and approached.

“Guardian, we are trying to……”

“Oh, never mind. This is how it is. Is my wife saying anything wrong right now? You were ignoring her when she said it hurt so much from the beginning, and now you’re suddenly saying she needs surgery? Did something go wrong? Then you should have said so from the beginning? Did something go wrong because you neglected her?”

“That’s not the case. We definitely didn’t neglect her, and we didn’t neglect her. We were monitoring the patient’s condition……”

“You didn’t?”

Lee Chan-hee tried to explain as calmly as possible, but Kim No-dam, who had lived with a sharp temper, didn’t listen to him.

“What do you mean you didn’t! That’s how it is. Huh?”

“Guardian.”

It was then that Lee Chan-hee was quite surprised by the unexpected fierce reaction.

“Hello.”

Kim No-dam, who looked like he was about to swear, turned his head at the soft tone that came from somewhere.