The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 412: President Liu has matured even more at
Liu Banxia simply felt that the injury looked a bit abnormal, but he didn’t expect a related task to pop up. This made him anxious because any illness associated with a task usually required special attention.
At Liu Banxia’s reminder, Wang Chao examined the patient’s back injury more carefully and also felt that something was off.
The patient had fallen onto a coffee table and lain there. Such a fall shouldn’t have resulted in such severe abrasions. Although the wound itself was small, the bruising around it was quite significant.
Although Wang Chao realized something was amiss, he was unsure what kind of examination to conduct next.
"Sir, do you feel discomfort anywhere else?" Liu Banxia asked.
"No, I’m just a bit dizzy, and my back hurts a little," replied the patient.
Liu Banxia frowned. The patient is probably still recovering from the concussion caused by the fall, so his description of his condition is a bit unclear. However, the glaring bruise on his back was certainly not the result of a simple fall or abrasion.
"Doctor Wang, let’s perform a bedside ultrasound to examine his abdominal cavity," Liu Banxia suggested after some consideration.
Wang Chao wheeled the mobile ultrasound over without hesitation and began examining the patient’s abdomen.
After only a few seconds of scanning, the faces of both Wang Chao and Liu Banxia turned pale.
"Sister Wang, notify Dr. Shi or Dr. Wei to prepare an operating room! Abdominal aortic aneurysm!" Liu Banxia shouted.
DING! Strange Wound task completed.
Experience Gained: 400 points. Diagnostic Skill Proficiency: 500 points. Glory Points: 3.
Task Rating: Flawless. Additional Rewards: 500 Experience Points, 500 Diagnostic Skill Proficiency Points, 5 Glory Points.
"The patient has a moderately-sized aortic aneurysm in his abdomen that could rupture at any moment. We need to perform surgery immediately," Wang Chao anxiously told the patient’s son.
The patient’s son stood there, dumbfounded, unsure how to process what was happening.
"Try not to panic. Although an aortic aneurysm is very dangerous and can rupture at any moment, we’re in a hospital. We can handle any emergency that arises," Liu Banxia said, addressing the patient’s son, then turned to the patient. "We need to prepare for surgery now. You should try to remain as calm as possible. If you can hold on until we get you into the operating room, then there won’t be much to worry about."
"But... my stomach hurts a bit now," the patient said with a grimace, pressing his hand to his lower left abdomen.
Liu Banxia’s heart skipped a beat. The aneurysm has ruptured! "Rush him to the operating room for hemostasis, now!"
This was common medical knowledge: the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm often results in sudden abdominal pain radiating from the lower left quadrant to the groin.
The patient’s aneurysm wasn’t small, so the blood loss would undoubtedly be significant. The next developments would be hemorrhagic shock and loss of consciousness; if not treated immediately, his life would be in danger.
"Banxia, Dr. Wei just finished a surgery and is waiting in OR 2!" Wang Ying shouted.
Liu Banxia and his team raced the gurney toward the operating room, pushing it like madmen. This was another race against time. If Wang Ying hadn’t shouted that an OR was ready, he might have performed an emergency laparotomy for hemostasis right there.
"Dr. Wei, ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, approximately six centimeters in diameter! Blood type unknown for now. History of high blood pressure, no diabetes or heart disease," Liu Banxia called out as they burst into the operating room.
The first part was for Wei Yuan, detailing the condition; the latter part was for the others in the operating room, especially the anesthesiologist.
"Leave him to me. Wang Chao, scrub in," Wei Yuan said with a nod, then took charge of the patient, helping lift him onto the operating table.
Liu Banxia didn’t leave immediately. He only felt his heart settle once anesthesia was administered and Wei Yuan had made the incision.
"Brother Wei, we were really lucky President Liu was here. I was about to let the patient go," Wang Chao said, only daring to speak after hemostasis was successful.
"The patient’s condition was very insidious. After admission, we were overly focused on his head trauma," Liu Banxia said.
"An aneurysm this large would definitely have manifested some symptoms in his daily life. However, the patient himself didn’t pay much attention to them, so it would have been very difficult for us to discover it upon initial consultation."
"President Liu, how did you spot it then? That was a really close call! The abdomen was full of blood when we opened him up. I was wondering why you didn’t perform an emergency laparotomy to stop the bleeding on the spot," Wei Yuan asked.
"I just felt the bruising looked a bit different. Intracranial aneurysms often have ’herald bleeds’ that are frequently overlooked," Liu Banxia explained.
"The aneurysm was already nearing its rupture point, which likely affected his blood pressure, causing him to fall at home. Those injuries on his back probably weren’t caused by the fall itself but were actually sentinel hemorrhages from ruptured capillaries."
"You could say I took a bit of a shortcut. After all, the brain CT didn’t show any problems. An X-ray would have taken more time, so an abdominal ultrasound was the most convenient option."
"Sigh... I can’t compare to your meticulousness. So why didn’t you perform an immediate laparotomy to stop the bleeding then?" Wei Yuan asked curiously.
"We have to follow procedure. Sister Wang said you were already prepared in the operating room, which gave us enough time for rescue. Alright, you all carry on. I’ll go inform the patient’s family," Liu Banxia replied.
「In the operating room, after Liu Banxia left」
"Don’t you all feel that our President Liu has become more mature?" Wei Yuan asked with a smile.
"Teacher Wei, really? I think Teacher Liu is the same as before," Miao Rui said curiously.
"That’s because you don’t know what your esteemed Teacher Liu used to be like," Wei Yuan chuckled. "He was capable of performing laparotomies and thoracotomies right in the resuscitation room! Back when he was still in the Emergency Department, he even dared to argue heatedly with the director."
"Back then, his mind was solely focused on the patient. It’s not that such dedication is bad, but sometimes, being too fixated can cloud one’s judgment."
"If this were the old him, he definitely would have performed an immediate laparotomy to stop the bleeding. It would have been effective and stopped the bleeding quickly, but it would also have subjected the patient to a longer period of blood loss and placed an additional burden on their body."
"Performing a laparotomy to stop the bleeding takes time, and then transferring the patient to the operating room for the definitive surgery also takes time. That approach should only be taken when absolutely necessary."
"What we did now was much better, minimizing excessive trauma to the patient’s body. The patient’s recovery period will also be significantly shortened, and it will greatly reduce the likelihood of many complications."
"That’s absolutely right. I can vouch for that," Wang Chao chimed in.
"Actually, the main reason I stayed at our Second Affiliated Hospital and joined the Emergency Department back then was primarily due to this kid’s influence.
"During my residency, I really didn’t want to join the Emergency Center. My family also didn’t want me to stay at the Second Affiliated, knowing how hard and tiring it is to be a doctor.
"But after spending a lot of time with him, I was gradually led astray by him. I just felt I couldn’t be worse than others, right? Then our Emergency Department had an opportunity to upgrade. So, I steeled my resolve, gritted my teeth, and joined.
"You all need to pay close attention to this: President Liu now is even more formidable than before. He used to just charge ahead stubbornly, but now he considers many more things. If you observe him carefully, you’ll definitely learn a lot.
"Actually, don’t laugh, but I’m still learning from him too. Being a doctor isn’t easy, you know? With him around, as long as you’re willing to put in the effort, you can learn a great deal.
"Think about it, in other hospitals, whether it’s a municipal hospital or a primary affiliated one, who would give you so many hands-on opportunities? Only he can, and only he dares."
These were Wang Chao’s heartfelt words; he was still feeling a lingering fear. With such a patient, even a slight delay could mean they couldn’t be saved.
This was an aortic aneurysm! The amount of bleeding was incomparable to ordinary internal hemorrhage; they weren’t even in the same league.
If it hadn’t been for Liu Banxia’s reminder, if my lack of careful observation had led to the patient’s death... I truly don’t know if I’d ever have the confidence to see patients again.
Miao Rui and Liu Yiqing learned a bit more about Liu Banxia that day. They hadn’t expected their Teacher Liu to have been so "formidable" in the past.
After all, they hadn’t been at the Second Affiliated Hospital for very long, and their understanding of Liu Banxia was primarily based on his "Teacher Liu" persona. The Liu Banxia of that time had already become much more composed, quite different from his earlier days.
"That kid is only going to get more and more capable," Wei Yuan said.
"The director doesn’t have that much time to guide our surgeries, so from now on, just stick with this kid. He’s only adhering to the director’s rule that he can’t perform surgery until his stitches are out. Otherwise, today’s operation could have been even faster."
"Wang Chao, how’s your research on the small-incision appendectomy coming along? Will you be able to stand in for Banxia in the future? That way, we can let him take on more surgeries."
Wang Chao shook his head. "I’m still slower at locating the appendix for the small-incision appendectomy, but I can manage it now. If it’s suppurative appendicitis, I can only use laparoscopy. I can’t compare to him in that regard."
"Those hands of his... they’re practically inhuman. He can feel the most subtle differences; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so skilled at bone setting. Wasn’t there that orthopedic consult last time? He took over from Director Xu to set the patient’s bones right there."
"The senior physicians over there all said that comparisons are odious and then just stopped trying to compete with him. They just symbolically order an X-ray, glance at it, and he gets straight to work with his hands."
"His initial assessment of the patient’s injuries through palpation is almost always spot on. They just confirm it with the X-ray. I’ve tried palpating too, but I couldn’t feel a thing."
Miao Rui and Liu Yiqing listened with amusement. They had both experienced Liu Banxia’s digital dexterity during his wound dressing tutorials. In that respect, Liu Banxia truly was second to none.
The two were enjoying themselves and didn’t notice Wei Yuan and Wang Chao exchange a meaningful look.
Their praise for Liu Banxia was genuinely heartfelt; they were speaking the truth. They also saw Liu Banxia as a valuable asset, hoping he could help retain all the interns.
If you want to improve your medical skills in the future, sticking with Liu Banxia is definitely the right choice.
