Chapter 48

“It’s a call from Director Tian!” The name displayed on the mobile phone.

After the call, Song Zimo shrugged, “They couldn’t hold off any longer. There was a brawl, injuring more than ten people. The minor injuries have been taken by the orthopedics department on duty, while the two severe cases are following the procedure of Trauma Emergency Center for immediate rescue surgery.”

“Didn’t they say they can handle it a moment ago? That was quick. Director Tian is not doing well. He needs to replenish his energy.” Zhang Lin remarked.

It looked like they wouldn’t enjoy the hot pot after all. In the awkward silence, Zhang Lin vigorously picked up a bunch of lamb from the pot with his chopsticks. Not bothering with the seasoning, he blew on it a few times before stuffing it into his mouth, making puffs of steam from his mouth.

“Let’s go!” Yang Ping said, as time was the most critical for emergency rescues.

Little Five instructed the waiter, “Hold onto it. Keep it for us until we return.”

Song Zimo scanned the bill with WeChat. Even though they hadn’t eaten, they had ordered. If they left just like that, the staff might think they were dining and dashing.

Zhang Lin kept stuffing lamb into his mouth, even when Little Five was pulling his arm.

With the hot pot still cooking, they gave a quick farewell and hastily left for the hospital. They arrived at the emergency department in minutes.

There was a significant police presence in the emergency hall. Yang Ping and his team swiped their cards to enter the rescue room.

The rescue room was enclosed, requiring card access. There were also several police officers inside.

Doctors and nurses were busy, their rescue techniques skilled. Director Tian and Fang Yan were still inside the emergency room. Seeing their reinforcements arrive, they came forward and said, “We need to operate on two severe cases. One received dozens of blows, severing the nerves and blood vessels in all limbs. The worst blow was in the back, affecting the spinal canal, likely causing spinal cord injury. Another person got stabbed in the left groin with a bottle, rupturing the femoral artery and leaving glass fragments, causing shock. We have conducted an EKG and taken blood samples, but the results are not out yet. We are preparing to send them to the operating room immediately. Fang Yan and I will handle the spinal surgery, and you can handle the ruptured femoral artery. How does that sound?”

Director Tian was calm, exuding the demeanor of a leader.

The arrangement was reasonable. Only an associate chief physician could perform spinal surgery, something Yang Ping wasn’t allowed to do yet. Moreover, he hadn’t dealt with spinal cases and didn’t know how to handle them. Unlike injuries to the limbs, he had been systematically trained for those procedures.

“No problem, let’s go with that.” Yang Ping responded decisively. It was not the time to dawdle.

Yang Ping wanted to see the patients, but they had already been moved during the discussion. The process was indeed swift. They immediately rushed towards the operation room.

Song Zimo opened a locker in the changing room, took out a bag, and tossed it to Little Five, “Open it and distribute it.”

Little Five peeked into the bag to find it full of chocolate bars.

“These are energy chocolates from Germany, high in calories. They are essential for emergency surgeries,” said Song Zimo.

“Thanks, Young Master Song!” Little Five distributed a few chocolate bars to everyone.

Having quickly devoured the chocolates, Yang Ping changed his clothes.

Upon entering the operating room, a patrolling nurse came over and said, “The laboratory just called — the patient tested positive for HIV in the preliminary screening. The paper report is on the way. Everyone needs to take precautions. I’m off to prep the protective suits.”

A positive HIV screening meant that the patient could potentially have AIDS. This surgery had indeed become stressful.

Little Five called up the patient’s test report on the operating room’s computer. It was indeed positive in the preliminary HIV screening.

“Ding-dong, task: Carry out a highly dangerous operation. If you complete the operation without occupational exposure, you will earn 6000 points.”

This was truly a highly risky operation. Usually, this kind of surgery would be performed at the Seventh City Hospital, a specialized infectious disease hospital. Despite its excellent infectious disease department, its other departments, especially surgery, were weak. For emergency cases or major surgeries like these that the infectious disease hospital wasn’t equipped to handle, integrated hospitals have to step in.

The anesthesiologist wore a face shield, goggles, and two pairs of gloves early on. The face shield was anti-fog, but still fogged up. Making it hard to see clearly.

Fortunately, the anesthesiologist had enough experience to successfully administer general anesthesia and intubated the patient, despite the poor visibility.

The patrolling nurse prepared a disposable sterile sheet. Su Yixuan also arrived by then.

Yang Ping pulled her aside and said, “You don’t need to scrub in for this surgery. We have four people, that’s enough.”

Confused, Su Yixuan asked, “What’s wrong? I’m okay.”

Yang Ping seemed a little absent-minded as he said, “We have enough people, and Little Five and Zhang Lin want to try their hands at instrument passing.”

“The suits are ready!” the patrolling nurse called out.

The protective suits, also known as ‘space suits,’ were special types of surgical gowns that included a hood, which could completely shield a person from blood splattering during surgery.

Seeing them preparing to wear the suits, Su Yixuan immediately understood why Yang Ping didn’t let her participate, and she was moved.

“I’m more familiar with assisting in surgery for you than anyone else, which lowers the risk of injuries during surgery. Especially when it comes to sharp equipment, they might not understand as well as I do. Despite you operating with them on a daily basis, they are not as versed in the equipment as I am. I’ve attended training in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Japan for high-risk infection surgeries like this. Believe me, it will be alright,” she said stubbornly.

Yang Ping looked at her, wondering why the young girl was so defiant.

In reality, it was not a big deal, he just didn’t want her to take such risks. The man had no reservations about how he felt towards Su Yixuan – he was already falling for her.

“Alright, be careful, got it? Go slow. And double glove,” Yang Ping advised her with a concerned look.

Su Yixuan nodded, feeling a warmth surge within her.

“Just the two of us will be enough, too many people could lead to accidents! You two can stop scrubbing in,” Song Zimo started to put on gloves and disinfect. He addressed Zhang Lin and Little Five.

When performing surgery on an HIV patient, protection must be adequate. This was not out of discrimination or distaste, but for safety based on scientific facts. Only by ensuring one’s own safety can one save others effectively.

After Yang Ping scrubbed in, he began to put on a surgical gown. A space suit provided good protection, but it was very inconvenient for surgery.

Especially the field of vision, it was tough to see clearly through the protective shield. It was even more inconvenient for doctors who wore glasses. Luckily, Yang Ping did not need glasses.

“How do we proceed when the blood starts spouting out once we open the wound?” Song Zimo asked.

Yang Ping donned his gloves: “What do you think?”

“Open the abdomen, locate the external iliac artery, block the blood flow, then proceed to the next step?” Song Zimo suggested.

Yang Ping gave him a thumbs up; he indeed was a genius. If he wasn’t there with his out-of-the-ordinary abilities, Song Zimo would have been the star of the show.

The method suggested by Song Zimo was the safest course of action, not only did it reduce blood loss but it gave ample time to locate the blood vessels.

“Should we go in, Senior?” Zhang Lin and Little Five were eager to get involved, but they were worried.

Truth be told, they were somewhat apprehensive. However, as doctors, they had no choice. This was their job. Just like police officers facing criminals – while others can run, police officers can’t. It wasn’t about being noble but about professionalism.

“You two are so eager, come on in. We’re going back to our hotpot,” Song Zimo was annoyed. He had told them repeatedly not to come in, but they kept asking.

After laying out the drapes and performing a brief preoperative check, they wasted no time.

Yang Ping made an incision in the lower abdomen. Because he had performed hundreds of surgeries to locate the external iliac artery during previous system tests, he was very familiar with the anatomy of the pelvic blood vessels and nerves.

Very quickly, from making the incision to locating it, it took less than two minutes to find the external iliac artery and clip it off. He purposely slowed the process down.

“How are you so skilled?” Song Zimo asked while he assisted.

He did more than a dozen dissections in medical school to gain a comprehensive understanding of anatomy. Yang Ping couldn’t possibly have the same opportunity to dissect as many bodies, but from the looks of it, it seemed like he was performing external iliac artery surgeries every day.

“Unlock the tourniquet below and disinfect again,” Yang Ping ignored him and commanded firmly, exuding a strong and decisive air as the lead surgeon.

They untied the cloth towel and bandage from below. Somebody had shoved a towel into his wound before bandaging it up.

The person must have been experienced. If it wasn’t for this crude hemostatic method, this patient would’ve probably been gone by now.

Once they untied it, as expected, there was no bleeding. They disinfected the wound again.

“Watch out, there’s a lot of glass inside. Be careful.” Yang Ping warned Song Zimo.

The glass in the wound was the most dangerous. Under normal circumstances, they could put their hands into the surgical area for operation, but it was absolutely not permissible in this case. The sharp glass could easily prick the gloves and skin, causing HIV infection.

“Vascular forceps!” Yang Ping reached out for the instrument.

“Got it, let’s get the big pieces out. Leaving the fragmented glass wouldn’t cause too much trouble,” Song Zimo was being extra careful while assisting.

As Su Yixuan passed the vascular forceps, she gently reminded, “Take your time, don’t rush.”

Song Zimo glanced at Yang Ping and then at Su Yixuan. He could tell something was up.

With the forceps, he reached into the wound and took it out.

A piece of glass, at least three centimeters long, was carefully placed into a kidney dish.