The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 445, you cannot leave yet.

Liu Banxia returned to the emergency center, and Wang Chao approached him with a grin. Liu Banxia knew exactly what Wang Chao was up to.

"Ah, we should be letting the interns handle more surgeries recently. The attending physicians and residents should take on a guiding role, allowing the interns to get more practice," Liu Banxia said.

The smile on Wang Chao’s face froze for a moment, and he cast an aggrieved glance at Liu Banxia. "I haven’t even said anything yet, and here you are, already plotting revenge. It’s frustrating. You could at least bribe me with a chicken leg."

"Hehe, I’m not scared at all," Liu Banxia said with a playful smile.

"Forget it, I surrender," Wang Chao said, shaking his head. "I have an update on a patient. The one Old Xiao performed brain surgery on last night just woke up. After an examination, it seems they’ve lost their language function; they have aphasia."

"As for other symptoms, further observation is required. For now, their cognitive function seems unaffected. But aphasia can affect someone for life."

"This is the price of impulsivity, drinking and picking fights," Liu Banxia remarked, somewhat helplessly. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Aphasia is just one of the potential sequelae of a subdural hemorrhage; motor skills, mental state, cognition, and intelligence could also be impacted. After all, the brain is an extremely delicate organ, which is why potential complications are repeatedly explained to the patient or their family before performing brain surgery. Even if the operation is performed perfectly according to standard procedures and no problems are identified during surgery, the patient can still encounter issues postoperatively. Sometimes, these issues are medically unexplainable, hence the importance of ensuring the patient is fully informed beforehand.

And now that this patient is in this condition, regardless of who was responsible for the assault, obtaining the patient’s forgiveness will be extremely difficult. This isn’t just about money anymore; it’s about potential jail time.

At this moment, Wu Mingyu gestured to him. Liu Banxia knew it was about the test results.

"The diagnosis has been confirmed," Wu Mingyu said. "The tumor is small but irregularly shaped and is growing rapidly. Should I ask Director Xu for a consultation directly, or should we do the biopsy first and then consult him?"

Ding! Consultation completed. Experience points gained: 300. Proficiency in diagnostics: 50 points. Congratulations to the host for leveling up to level 51 (139,015/145,180). Attribute points gained: 1. Glory Points gained: 5.

"Have you spoken with the young man?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Not yet. He seemed a bit scared, so I didn’t dare tell him," Wu Mingyu replied.

"We should just tell him straight," Liu Banxia said. "After all, it’s still in the early stages, and it’s small enough that it likely hasn’t metastasized yet."

Bone cancer is a dreadful disease that progresses rapidly and has a poor prognosis. If it metastasizes, it means the patient’s life is on a countdown. Although the biopsy results were not yet available, based on the current test results and symptoms, it was undeniably malignant. Benign tumors would not grow so quickly, and their edges would be smooth. In fact, rather than doing a biopsy, an intraoperative frozen section would have been a better option. This is because such malignant tumors, once stimulated, can grow at an exponential rate.

Upon arriving at the consultation room, the young man’s face was deathly pale. If he didn’t have some hunch about what was going on by now, he truly had nerves of steel.

"I’m your consulting physician, and this is Dr. Wu from Orthopedics," Liu Banxia began. "You probably have some suspicions."

"Our current advice is for you to be hospitalized immediately for surgery. During the operation, we will determine if the tumor is benign or malignant. However, we need to discuss in advance what we’ll do if it turns out to be malignant."

"The common treatment approach is resection. In other words, we would replace your right hip bone and then follow up with adjuvant chemotherapy to clear any remaining cancer cells from your body. This approach offers higher safety and a better prognosis."

"However, most artificial joint replacements have a limited lifespan, typically ten to twenty years. When the artificial hip bone reaches the end of its lifespan, another replacement surgery will be necessary."

"Also, it’s important to note that after the artificial joint replacement, you will face a long rehabilitation period. For the first six weeks, you’ll only be able to do minor rehabilitation exercises. Only after six weeks, or possibly three months, can you engage in more strenuous activities."

"Because it’s a hip joint replacement, and there will likely be some muscle atrophy post-operatively, you’ll experience a significant adjustment period. It will take considerable time to adapt, and there might also be a difference in length between your two legs."

"Of course, this is the worst-case scenario we are anticipating. The best-case scenario would be that we worried for nothing, and it’s just a benign tumor."

"We’re being upfront with you for two reasons: one, you likely have some suspicions already, and two, we need you to make a decision. This will allow us to schedule the surgery with Director Xu from Orthopedics."

"Doctor, let me interrupt," the patient asked. "So you’re saying if I have my hip joint replaced, my life can be saved?"

"We can’t give you a 100% guarantee," Liu Banxia said. "But we can responsibly assure you that if this tumor is malignant, the treatment plan we just recommended is currently the most frequently used and most effective."

"If so, can I avoid telling my parents?" the patient asked. "Or could I just tell them that I have a different illness that requires a bone replacement? Would that be okay?"

This left Liu Banxia and Wu Mingyu momentarily stunned.

"I can afford the treatment myself," the patient continued. "I’ll arrange for admission to the hospital later, and I’ll tell them I’m going on a trip."

"But it’s almost the New Year, and this is a major surgery. Are you sure you don’t want to tell them?" Liu Banxia asked with a frown.

"My dad has heart disease, and my mom has high blood pressure; I don’t want them to worry," the patient said. "During the operation, I’ll leave the decisions to you. If it’s benign, I’ll be lucky, but I have a feeling it’s malignant."

"Alright, we’ll respect your wishes," Liu Banxia nodded seriously. "Let’s proceed with the paperwork. Doctor Wu, could you please contact Director Xu?"

Wu Mingyu nodded. He respected the patient’s decision.

The case was now completely handed over to Wu Mingyu; Liu Banxia couldn’t help at all with this particular surgery.

"Dr. Liu, we finally found the elderly man’s son!"

As Liu Banxia stepped out, the police officer happily ran over.

"That wasn’t easy," Liu Banxia said. "I should go and speak with him."

The man who approached looked to be in his forties and was quite well-dressed.

"Doctor, thank you so much," the patient’s son said quickly upon seeing Liu Banxia.

"The thanks should go to those who found him," Liu Banxia said. "If he hadn’t been found and brought here, who knows where he might have wandered off to. I also need to remind you, in his current condition, your father can’t be left alone."

"Ah, we only took him in less than a year ago," the patient’s son explained. "At first, he didn’t want to live with us at all, so we found him an apartment and hired a caretaker."

"The original caretaker was very good, but she had to leave early when my new daughter-in-law came for a visit this year. I hastily hired a temporary replacement, and now she’s completely disappeared. Once I find her... Officer, I think I should file a police report."

"We will handle this matter," the police officer said with a smile, "but there’s no rush on that. The main priority is to take care of the old gentleman. He was out in the cold yesterday and developed a bit of pneumonia. We’ve just given him an IV. You’ll need to settle the bill."

"I’ll settle it right away, of course," the patient’s son said. "You’ve essentially saved my father’s life. He’s old and should be enjoying his life, but instead, he has dementia."

"He used to love reading. When he moved, we transported several boxes of his books. He still had some mental clarity back then; he was worried about embarrassing my wife and me, so he didn’t want to live in the same neighborhood. He even wanted to go to a nursing home, but I refused."

"Recently, with the year-end rush, business has been hectic, and I’m afraid I neglected him. I never imagined we’d end up with such an irresponsible caretaker. It’s just... so incredibly frustrating."

There really was no comforting him. Faced with such an irresponsible caretaker, what could one say? It seemed the caretaker panicked and fled when she realized the old gentleman had wandered off. She might have run, but could she truly escape the consequences? If she had reported him missing to the police immediately, they could have searched the vicinity quickly, and perhaps the old man wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.

The patient’s son thanked them again before going to handle the paperwork.

It just goes to show how helpless one can be against such diseases. His family clearly wasn’t short on money, but even wealth couldn’t shield them from this illness. The monthly salary for the caretaker must have been substantial too.

"Officer, Doctor, thank you so much," the patient’s son said after settling the costs. "I’m going to take my father home now. Does he need another IV?"

"He was scratched by a cat, so he might experience some fever, but it’s not a major concern," Liu Banxia said. "The pneumonia isn’t very serious either. Keep an eye on him at home. If his temperature rises above 38 degrees Celsius, apply a cool, damp towel to his forehead."

"The wound on his hand might develop blisters or a rash, but don’t worry. It might get a bit itchy; applying some povidone-iodine solution should help. We’ve given him a tetanus shot. As for the rabies vaccine, that’s something you can decide on yourselves."

"Okay, thank you, Doctor," the patient’s son nodded and walked over to the bedside.

"Dad, let me help you up. We should go home. Your eldest grandson finishes his supplementary classes today and is starting his vacation; he said he’ll come stay with you. Yaru is at home making your favorite pork and cabbage dumplings. Let’s go home and eat."

It was unclear whether the old gentleman understood, but he smiled and nodded, leaning on his son’s arm to stand up.

Getting out of bed and walking was a bit difficult for him. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when he experienced urinary incontinence.

"Wait a moment, you can’t leave yet," Liu Banxia called out, his brow furrowed in concern.

"Oh, Doctor, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make a mess," the patient’s son apologized hurriedly when he saw Liu Banxia frown.

The police officer standing nearby glanced at Liu Banxia in surprise. They hadn’t interacted for long, but surely Dr. Liu wouldn’t get angry with the patient’s family over something like this?