The Surgeon's Studio

Warm normal saline was used to irrigate the peritoneal cavity. Even though the surgery completion rate on the System panel was high and would reach 100 percent following the closure of the abdominal surgical wound, Zheng Ren still cautiously examined the peritoneal cavity for any active bleeding spots.

This was probably a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder that every surgeon suffered.

A detailed examination was absolutely necessary as reoperation due to postoperative hemorrhaging would be more damaging to the patient than simply undergoing one surgery.

A reoperation had a higher risk of complications.

Two thousand milliliters of warm normal saline was poured into the peritoneal cavity and aspirated until the fluid gurgling along the tube became light-colored and less turbid. Then, Zheng Ren and Su Yun closed the abdomen together.

Chu Yanran had been observing the patient’s vital signs and progression throughout the surgery.

At the beginning of abdominal wound closure, she made a note on the intraoperative anesthesia record and prepared medication for the patient’s anesthesia recovery.

On the other hand, Chu Yanzhi chatted leisurely with Xie Yiren for a while and stood behind Zheng Ren and Su Yun to observe the surgery’s progress from a different angle.

Each abdominal wall layer was sutured accordingly. As the last layer was being sutured, the patient gradually began to regain consciousness.

Since he had been admitted just in time, blood loss remained minimal and he merely suffered mild hemorrhagic shock. Thus, he did not need to be intubated or ventilated post-surgery.

However, due to a lack of nurses in the emergency department, Zheng Ren decided to transfer the patient to the ICU for one night.

The cost of treatment in the ICU would not exceed ten thousand yuan a day. If the patient’s postoperative blood tests revealed a hemoglobin count over 80, blood transfusions would be unnecessary.

He could get through the recovery phase with his hematopoiesis alone.

Following the completion of surgery, Zheng Ren remained onsite to assist with the patient transfer to a stretcher trolley, which was then escorted to the ICU by Su Yun and Chu Yanran. After that, he took a shower and changed his clothes before returning to the emergency ward.

Su Yun was nowhere to be seen as he was adhering to standard procedure.

Since it was a postoperative emergency surgical case, Su Yun would normally stay in the ICU and monitor the patient for one to two hours. When the patient’s condition had stabilized and no additional treatment plan was required, only then would he return to the emergency department.

An hour later, Zheng Ren informed the nurses on duty of his temporary absence before putting on a white coat and heading to the ICU to check on the postoperative patient’s condition.

Unless the surgery was very simple, every surgeon would do this as long as conditions permitted.

In the ICU, the patient had regained consciousness and his condition had stabilized.

However, analgesia had been administered for the pain at the incision site, so he was currently asleep at the moment.

Monitors revealed that the patient’s vital signs were stable as well. However, Su Yun was not making calculations with pen and paper by the ventilator and various monitors as he did the other critically ill patients.

Instead, he was chatting leisurely with the nurses.

Zheng Ren had no idea what they were talking about, but he could clearly see the euphoric smiles on the nurses’ faces as they spoke softly.

Apart from the slight discomfort of the ventilator tube, the old man with a ruptured hemangioma had basically stabilized and his blood pressure had normalized as well. Zheng Ren then explained the situation outside to him and calmed him down.

He was recovering well, which was a good sign.

Zheng Ren smiled and left.

All the chairs in the corridor were fully occupied with multiple sleeping bags laid all across the floor, but he had no idea if the patient’s lover was among them.

That was usually the case in the ICU. Family members were restricted from entering at all times, which was a necessity to prevent transmission of bacteria to patients’ exposed airways which could lead to secondary bacterial infection. Thus, they had no choice but to sleep outside, even on the floor as the hospital did not have a lounge.

The patient who had undergone surgery today was considered a minor case and could be transferred out of the ICU the next day, so his family had to suffer for only one night. However, for patients who were critically ill and relied on ventilators for life support, their families would be forced to wait outside indefinitely.

Zheng Ren called out the family member’s name several times. His voice was loud but not deafening.

A sound could be heard from the fire escape, so he pushed open the door to have a look.

Tang Xiu and the middle-aged woman were smoking in the fire escape.

Upon seeing Zheng Ren, Tang Xiu was momentarily stunned and subconsciously offered him her fashionable cigarettes.

Zheng Ren waved his hand in response.

“The patient is recovering well, so you can expect a transfer out of the ICU if everything goes well,” said Zheng Ren.

The news exhilarated both Tang Xiu and the middle-aged woman, but they were soon in doubt. Which patient was Doctor Zheng referring to?

Zheng Ren also smiled. “Both are fine.”

This put their weight off their minds.

“Lovers’ quarrel?” Zheng Ren pretended to be relaxed and asked tentatively.

Embarrassed, the middle-aged woman bit her lip and nodded.

“Why did you use a knife?”

“He is an honest man, but there are lots of wedding ceremonies this month and he asked for money to be gifted as a wedding present,” the middle-aged woman said in defense, “You also know that high school tuition fees are very expensive and each make-up class costs a few hundred yuan. Both of us are ordinary employees who earn just enough money to live on. The money he requested was basically all of our savings.”

“You don’t have to use a knife either.” Zheng Ren smiled kindly. “Now you have to pay more for the treatment fee.”

The thought of spending more money shattered her heart and contorted her face.

“Fortunately, you sent him here in a timely manner, so the fee isn’t high. When he is transferred to the emergency ward, I’ll try my best to minimize the cost as much as possible,” said Zheng Ren.

“Thank you so much.” The middle-aged woman nodded vigorously. “The medical expenses can be covered by insurance, right?”

“Impossible.” Zheng Ren shook his head. “Medical insurance doesn’t cover traffic collisions or knife injuries. Besides, even though this was a lovers’ quarrel, you can still be sued for assault and face imprisonment.”

The woman’s expression sank immediately.

“However, your lover won’t prosecute if he doesn’t hold a grudge. After all, if there are no complaints from civilians, there won’t be any response from officials as well,” Zheng Ren said grimly, “When he is transferred out of the ICU tomorrow, don’t act tough and just apologize nicely. If he is in a good mood during his recovery period, he can be discharged earlier and you’ll spend less as well. If his condition worsens due to rage, subsequent medical charges will be astronomical.”

Zheng Ren kept up the white lies until the middle-aged woman finally nodded in embarrassment and swore never to repeat the same mistake again.

That was the objective of his constant persuasion. Even though he was not as talented as Chang Yue, he had achieved the Master rank in understanding family members’ mindsets after working in the medical field for years.

It was better not to end the conversation hastily when speaking with scared family members who had impulsively and rashly harmed their loved ones.

“Doctor Zheng, how is my father?” asked Tang Xiu anxiously after noticing that Zheng Ren and the middle-aged woman’s conversation had ended. She had been waiting quietly the whole time.

“The old man is fine. He has regained consciousness and hears me perfectly, but he can’t speak at the moment due to the ventilator needed to assist his breathing. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine after being extubated tomorrow.”

Both patients’ smooth recoveries put a smile on both Zheng Ren and the family members’ faces.

“Thank you, thank you.” Tang Xiu was at a loss for words. All her thoughts coalesced into a flurry of gratitude and nothing else.

Zheng Ren waved his hand, left the fire escape and returned to his office via the elevator.

Xie Yiren had already left the hospital. Zheng Ren read through the WeChat group and saw that all of them had returned to their respective homes as they had lost interest in continuing to play mahjong after the emergency surgery.

Icy winds howled outside the building, but it was warm and cozy inside the hospital.

The first half of the night had been hectic in contrast to this peace and quiet.