The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 452 Drunk Drivers

"Doctor, do we really have to do surgery? Can my son handle it?" the patient’s father asked worriedly, watching Liu Banxia and Wang Huan point at the images.

"Don’t be too anxious yet," Liu Banxia said. "Given your son’s condition, we can first try to dilate his blood vessels with medication."

"Look here, and here. This is a vascular malformation, but it’s not very severe. We just need to perform a percutaneous transluminal angioplasty."

"To put it simply, we insert a catheter into the blood vessel, then place a stent at this bent section to straighten it. This will ensure normal blood flow."

"However, if we can clear this narrowed section with medication, then there will be no need for surgical intervention here. This could save some money and also reduce the trauma to your son."

"Even though this procedure is very mature, it’s always better to perform one less surgery if possible. After all, any surgery carries risks, and this is surgery performed within blood vessels."

"Doctor, wouldn’t that be more dangerous? Could the blood vessel be punctured?" the patient’s father asked.

"That’s a possibility, so we are always extremely careful during the procedure," Liu Banxia replied.

"For many people who have had heart disease, we use this technique. The main concern is that if this malformation in your son isn’t treated soon, who knows when it might lead to intestinal necrosis."

"At that point, it would require removing a section of the intestine, and it could also cause other complications. Of course, there’s another surgical intervention method: laparoscopy, to remove this malformed blood vessel and replace it with an artificial one."

"Theoretically, that approach is safer, but it’s more invasive than percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. You can choose what to do. We can also perform surgery on both these areas together."

Liu Banxia explained patiently. After all, anyone would be unsettled to hear about surgery involving blood vessels, and indeed, such surgical methods did carry certain risks.

Therefore, he had to explain all the surgical methods and situations simply. If the patient’s father still couldn’t understand, he would have to explain the detailed circumstances of each option.

Another treatment option was open abdominal surgery, but that would be even more traumatic for the child, so he didn’t recommend it.

The patient’s father was very conflicted. His dilemma wasn’t about money, but about choosing the surgical method that would be best for his son and minimize the risks.

"Doctor, what do you recommend?"

At this moment, the child lying on the hospital bed spoke up.

"Actually, both surgical methods are viable," Liu Banxia said after a moment of thought. "If you ask for my opinion, I lean towards the first option."

"The second option, after all, involves removing a part of your blood vessel and replacing it with an artificial one. However, that’s not to say the first option has no risks at all. Given the malformation, we need to expand the blood vessel at this malformed site."

"If this blood vessel is very fragile, it might tear while we’re expanding it. In that case, we would have to switch to the second surgical method."

The child then looked at Wang Huan.

"I also defer to his opinion on surgical methods. He’s very skilled in surgery here," Wang Huan said with a smile.

"Dad, let’s listen to the doctor," the boy said.

"Alright, then we’ll listen to the doctor," his father said, nodding firmly.

This actually surprised Liu Banxia a little. Perhaps the father was flustered with worry, making him lose his judgment, while the child, conversely, was very calm.

This matter was temporarily settled. Next would be admission to the hospital, administering medication to dilate the blood vessels, observation, and then determining the time for surgery.

As he was making arrangements, Qi Wentai rushed in pushing a gurney, calling out, "President Liu, the patient with splenic torsion has abdominal fluid. The baby is fine, but we suspect splenic bleeding. I need to get her to the OR immediately!"

Liu Banxia nodded. This was a situation he hadn’t wanted to see, yet it had happened.

Although there was a chance that a dislocated spleen might spontaneously return to its proper position, such chances were truly too small. However, one still had to respect the patient’s choice. Unless absolutely necessary, more aggressive intervention methods should not be employed.

Just like the boy earlier, both surgical options had their pros and cons; they had to be the ones to choose. The patient being wheeled away was a pregnant woman, worried about the surgery’s impact on the fetus, so her personal wishes also had to be respected.

"Dr. Liu, I bought some fruit for everyone. You absolutely must accept it."

At this moment, the son of the patient who had been misdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease walked over, carrying two large fruit baskets.

"Alright, since the old gentleman has a chance at recovery, which is a good thing, I’ll accept them. But this is a one-time exception; it’s already against hospital regulations," Liu Banxia said with a smile. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"It’s not a violation, not at all! I’ve decided not to even sue the nanny, so what are two fruit baskets? Honestly, if I had the proper opportunity, I would insist on thanking you thoroughly!" the patient’s son said.

"My father will have a completely different life from now on. What kind of life was he living before? In the future, he’ll be able to walk and move around, chat with us—it’s like he’s been given a second life."

"Haha, that’s not far off. But you’ll need to be more careful in his daily life from now on. Dr. Zhang over there has explained everything to you, right?" Liu Banxia asked.

The patient’s son nodded. "He explained everything to us. He was so meticulous, thought of everything for us."

"That’s settled then. Go and be with your father. Thanks," Liu Banxia said.

The patient’s son waved happily and then headed towards the elevator.

"What do we do with all this fruit?" Zhou Li asked.

"We can only accept them this once. If that young patient gets fussy, ask his parents if we can give him some of the fruit," Liu Banxia said casually.

Accepting fruit was genuinely against the rules. Forget fruit, even regular ice cream or drinks couldn’t be accepted. Because regardless of the monetary value, the principle was the same.

But should I have refused outright? The man just now would probably have stayed here arguing for a long time. He clearly wasn’t short on money; two large fruit baskets might seem like a lot, but in his eyes, it was nothing.

If you refuse, he might actually start to wonder if there’s some other unspoken reason. Then the more he mulls it over, the more complicated things become, and he might just start thinking along crooked lines.

Even though Liu Banxia didn’t go to the operating room himself, having fully authorized Qi Wentai, he was still somewhat worried about that patient. After all, it wasn’t a truly routine surgery; otherwise, Qi Wentai wouldn’t even be needed—the interns could have handled it.

The difficulty of this surgery lay in the fact that the patient was pregnant, so the operating time had to be minimized as much as possible. This was also a test for Qi Wentai.

This wasn’t to say it was being irresponsible towards the patient. Otherwise, under normal considerations, I should have been the one to operate, as my hands are fast enough.

Actually, his speed was only relative.

Qi Wentai’s hands weren’t slow either; he was perfectly capable of handling this surgery. Before Liu Banxia obtained the System, Qi Wentai was, without a doubt, an outstanding resident doctor in general surgery.

"Patient is around 50 years old, blunt chest trauma, head laceration. Vital signs stable. He was the driver in a car accident and fell asleep in the driver’s seat after the crash."

At this moment, a paramedic pushed a gurney in, accompanied by a traffic police officer.

"Huang Bo, you take this patient. I’ll assist," Liu Banxia said. He also smelled alcohol on the patient and immediately understood what was going on.

"Resuscitation Room One is free. Move him to an exam bed there first, then get an X-ray and draw blood," Huang Bo ordered, following the gurney.

"One, two, three—lift!" After they moved the patient onto the bed, Huang Bo commanded, "Everyone else, step back. Prepare for a chest X-ray."

Everyone quickly dispersed. After placing the X-ray plate behind his back, they took the X-ray directly.

After reviewing the displayed X-ray, Huang Bo hesitated for a moment. "No sign of rib fractures. Hmm... I’ll check the head wound. Dr. Liu, you can do the initial abdominal trauma assessment."

"Nonsense. Otherwise, what’s the point of you taking the lead on this patient? I’m just your assistant right now. I’ll check the head wound," Liu Banxia said with a sigh.

Perhaps because this patient’s symptoms were relatively minor, no one was particularly tense. Now, hearing Liu Banxia say this, they actually found it quite amusing.

The patient’s situation was obvious: drunk driving leading to a car accident. He had no serious injuries. After the collision, he’d simply fallen asleep, and despite all the commotion, he hadn’t woken up. His breathing was even, and he was sleeping very soundly.

"The head wound isn’t large. No sutures needed. I’ll debride it now," Liu Banxia said after a look.

Huang Bo, who was auscultating the patient’s heart and lungs, glanced at Liu Banxia very cautiously, looking a bit dazed and nervous.

Just like that, could he really treat Liu Banxia as someone under his command? This was Teacher Liu, a veritable demon king during teaching sessions!

"Heart and lung sounds are normal, abdomen is also normal. Combined with the chest X-ray results, let’s do a bedside abdominal ultrasound," Huang Bo said, though his tone wasn’t very firm.

"Forgot something?" Liu Banxia asked suddenly.

Huang Bo was even more bewildered. What had he forgotten? A head CT? Or should he go straight to an abdominal CT?

"You dunce, look to the side. Don’t just stare at me," Liu Banxia said.

Huang Bo turned his head and only then saw the traffic police officer standing near the doorway.

"Ah, we also need to add a blood alcohol test," Huang Bo quickly said.

After saying this, he glanced at Liu Banxia again, somewhat guiltily. Seeing Liu Banxia lower his head to debride the patient’s wound, he finally felt a bit more at ease and proceeded to perform the abdominal ultrasound on the patient.

The complete set of examinations revealed only the minor head injury and a bruise on the abdomen from the steering wheel impact; there was nothing else wrong. There were also some small bruises on his arms and legs. He was probably just a drunkard who’d gotten a few minor bumps and scrapes after drinking too much.

Throughout the entire examination process, this drunk-driving patient continued to sleep peacefully.

This was the most stable drunk patient the emergency center had ever admitted. Others would occasionally make a scene or vomit; he just slept.