The Surgeon's Studio

The interventional radiologist from a third-tier city stared at the livestream on his phone and frowned.

This host surgeon was highly talented, that was beyond question.

He had been eager to pit his skill against the host’s when he had first started watching the livestream.

However, after watching more surgery broadcasts, he was now well aware of the huge gap between them.

The thing was, he also knew how to perform interventional radiological treatment for hepatic carcinoma.

However, medical charges for interventional radiology were astronomical. Wealthy patients would normally seek doctors in Imperial Capital or Sorcery Capital, and the poor simply could not afford the cost and chose to give up in the end.

Thus, he performed only a dozen interventional surgeries for hepatic carcinoma a year.

Even so, that had not stopped him from gaining more knowledge on the subject.

Had the host surgeon found an abnormally proliferating tumor-feeding vessel? The interventional radiologist quietly sat in a corner, phone clutched in sweaty palms.

‘Oh yeah!’ An idea suddenly popped into his mind.

He recalled that 3D reconstruction of the 64-slice CT films were attached alongside the patient’s details at the beginning of the surgery. Should he take a look at it?

He hesitated for a few seconds.

The host surgeon’s “unconventional” superselection of the short gastric artery piqued his curiosity. He really wanted to read the films, but was unwilling to miss the most interesting parts of the surgery.

A few seconds later, he brought up the patient’s profile onscreen.

Yes, the patient had undergone interventional surgery before, and as for the 3D image reconstruction of the 64-slice CT films…

Upon seeing them, the interventional radiologist was shocked.

What detailed 3D reconstructions of the 64-slice CT films! These were exactly what all interventional radiologists yearned for.

All hepatic tumor-feeding arteries had been embolized in the previous surgery, so the tumor tissue had reestablished blood supply from the short gastric artery.

He understood now!

The host surgeon was not alone in their battle. They had a huge team with access to policies, financial and physical resources, and unimaginable manpower.

A 3D reconstruction of a 64-slice CT scan of the liver was the result of a highly advanced test… Even the branches of the short gastric artery were clearly visible on the CT films. Although it was more difficult to perform, it was still much more efficient than blindly searching for it while wearing a heavy lead apron.

‘I’m so envious.’ Infinite jealousy consumed the interventional radiologist’s heart.

However, there was no hatred.

Why would he be resentful when there were no bonuses and promotions involved?

He was merely envious of the god’s resources, their huge team and their incredible 3D reconstruction of a 64-slice CT scan of the liver.

In comparison, he had no one else to communicate with and could only improve his skills by watching surgery broadcasts in Xinglin Garden.

Moreover, most doctors around him had no idea Xinglin Garden existed.

The intense pressure from their own families, the endless night shifts and difficult scientific research were overwhelming enough. Who could spare time to learn new skills in Xinglin Garden?

As for scientific research… The interventional radiologist pursed his mouth in a smirk. Most cases were made-up reports as they simply had to pay to publish medical journals below the national level, and as for national medical journals… Apart from a few well-reputed ones, they were more expensive than the rest with nothing to show for.

The thought of spending more than ten thousand yuan just to publish an SCI journal cut the interventional radiologist’s heart as if he had been stabbed in his chest, the knife twisting and damaging every structure around the wound.

Wait, why was he even thinking of this nonsense in the middle of the surgery broadcast?

After getting his answer from the 3D reconstruction of the 64-slice CT films, the interventional radiologist immediately switched back to the livestream.

The operation was proceeding smoothly. The micro-guidewire had entered the liver through the short gastric artery and stopped just one centimeter away from the tumor.

[The host surgeon has an amazing team.]

Since the interventional radiologist did not want to miss any interesting surgical procedures, he quickly commented without elaborating.

[Hey, how did you know?]

[Legend, have you found the host surgeon’s workplace through the human flesh search engine[1]?]

[I want the host surgeon’s workplace address; I’m going to further my studies and will even resign to achieve my goal, so don’t even think about stopping me. I must learn this technique!]

The one bullet attracted dozens more that blotted out the subtle insertion of microcatheter on the screen.

The interventional radiologist was particularly troubled. His sole purpose for watching the livestream was to observe these fine manipulations, but even this was impossible now.

[Just shut up and read the patient’s preoperative 3D reconstruction of the 64-slice CT films.]

[It’s just simple 3D image reconstruction of the CT films, what’s so interesting about it?]

[Has the host surgeon made flowers out of the films?]

This was usually the case on the internet—an online world of contrarians. Despite being professional doctors, the viewers would still verbally assault anyone who told them to shut up.

The interventional radiologist was helpless. He was aware that most viewers were general surgeons who did not understand interventional radiology, which was why they could unscrupulously bombard him with criticism.

Despite his strong urge to turn off the comment section, he was reluctant to waste the golden opportunity to educate the others on interventional radiology.

Holding the phone in his hands, the radiologist began to type his explanation.

[The host surgeon found an abnormally proliferating tumor-feeding artery originating from the short gastric artery in the 3D reconstruction of the 64-slice CT films, which was why they superselected that artery in the beginning instead of adhering to the standard protocol of searching for the hepatic artery.

[Those who still don’t understand can ask your radiologists in the CT room, but of course, they would have to know 3D reconstruction of a 64-slice CT scan.]

It was a short explanation, but as soon as the bombardment ended, the interventional radiologist noticed the host surgeon injecting drugs into the tumor tissue in the livestream.

The drugs administered were Oxaliplatin and Irenotican, ordinary medication that he often used. There was nothing interesting about this procedure.

He had missed the most exciting part of the surgery!!!

He wanted to bang his head against the wall.

Fortunately, he could still watch the surgery replay later, which calmed him down significantly.

Drugs were administered, intra-arterial chemoinfusion was completed and the artery was embolized with an embolic agent. Upon taking another angiographic image, the tumor disappeared without a trace as if it had never existed in the beginning.

‘This surgery… is simply too amazing,’ the interventional radiologist thought.

He had to watch the surgery replay a hundred times tonight!

The surgery had been beautifully completed in twenty-five minutes.

Various emotions swirled through his heart. He absent-mindedly stared at the blank screen for a few seconds before switching the screen back to the homepage.

The medical field was an experimental science that required vast experience before a new surgical technique could be widely studied.

Otherwise… Unfamiliar surgical methods… The uneasiness of being forced to perform something way beyond one’s capability… The struggle of referring a surgical case to a more experienced surgeon to prevent the patient from dying at one’s own hands…

Negligence was the cause of most deaths.

Fortunately, this was the Information Age.

Fortunately, the host surgeon had been selfless enough to educate others for free.

After the screen switch, the interventional radiology froze for a few seconds before howling in anguish.

His phone dropped, the screen blank. Not only was the surgery unrecorded, the past surgery replays had been deleted as well.

[1] Human flesh search engine (Chinese: 人肉搜索) is a Chinese term for the phenomenon of distributed researching using Internet media such as blogs and forums. Internet media, namely dedicated websites and Internet forums, are in fact platforms that enable the broadcast of request and action plans concerning human flesh search and that allow the sharing of online and offline search results.