Famous Among Top Surgeons in the 90s-Chapter 1963: Roadmap

Under such circumstances, ordinary doctors are often daunted. When a cervical smear previously suggested cancer, ordinary doctors wouldn’t take the risk; they would opt for a full excision, fearing an incomplete cut might lead to even more severe recurrence.

Technically skilled doctors, on the other hand, are brave enough to face challenges for the patient’s benefit, provided they possess the capability.

Zuo Liang was asking this to consider whether a full cervical excision should be performed. A full cervical excision would also preserve the uterus for the patient, but it would seal the cervical opening, preventing future pregnancies. Given the patient’s older age, preserving fertility might not be necessary, and removing the cervix wouldn’t be problematic.

Better to avoid more issues.

However, pre-surgery, Du Haiwei approved the surgical plan provided by Student Geng.

Geng Yongzhe’s submitted plan was for a cone excision, not a full excision.

"Teacher Zuo, Yingying and I discussed it; we plan to excise this range." Saying this, Geng Yongzhe took out his prepared notebook to show the surgical teacher the anatomical diagram he had drawn.

Zuo Liang had looked at this diagram beforehand. Now, he carefully confirmed it with his eyes and asked, "How did you determine this range?"

"The size of this tumor is approximately 1.9 centimeters, which is just at the critical value. Hence, the range needs to be expanded slightly. To ensure the excised negative margin and the distance from the excised tumor meet the standard of three millimeters."

The numbers sound promising, but executing them is difficult. It once again boils down to the critical issue of millimetric precision. Three millimeters by itself is a subtle difference. To maintain the standard precision of three millimeters, first, the doctor’s naked eye must accurately judge the substantive edge of the tumor; secondly, when cutting, it should ideally reach the three-millimeter value, neither cutting less nor cutting more.

Considering this, it seems less straightforward and easy than a full excision.

One shouldn’t think like this; if cut accurately, a single incision can be effortless and time-saving. The full excision involves more steps and could lead to more bleeding, making it complicated. Hence, the biggest difference between them is whether the doctor chooses a mental challenge or a physical one.

Zuo Liang felt he had no choice. With his relatively limited clinical experience, he was uncertain about achieving absolute precision in the cut.

A 1.9-centimeter tumor is not small. Experienced doctors know that such a tumor is like a cavity; it may appear as just a black dot on the surface, but upon opening the dot, it might be decayed to the core. The Electrosurgical Unit is unusable as it cannot cut deeply enough, hence the traditional cold knife is used. The cold knife must cut in a circular incision deep enough to completely excise the tumor. This surgical method is extremely challenging.

Zuo Liang furrowed his brow, unsure how to articulate. Student Geng, responding, failed to address the key points or assist in meeting those standards.

It’s not the student’s fault; this difficulty lies in handling the surgical knife, which requires the surgeon’s own skill; nobody else can replace the surgeon’s hands to offer any help.

"Teacher Zuo, perhaps Student Geng can use a swab to mark out the excision area around the tumor for you," Xie Wanying suggested when she saw this.

Zuo Liang gazed deeply at her: this Student Xie could guess what he was thinking just from one question.

Unlike Student Geng, she has collaborated with many teachers on the surgical table, and she is quite adept at observing and speculating on what the Chief Surgeon is thinking.

Du Haiwei stood silently beside them, apparently not objecting to the attempts suggested by the two interns. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

With the supervisor’s stance unchanged, Zuo Liang turned to Student Geng and said, "Okay, you make the marks."

The teacher stepped aside, allowing Geng Yongzhe to sit on the stool. He took a swab dipped in Gentian Violet and carefully marked the excision area in a circle all around the exposed surgical field.