The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 551 became a toolman

"Dr. Chen, should we go straight to the operating room?" Liu Banxia asked.

Chen Xuehai scrutinized him closely. "Can you hold on? Should I do an ultrasound first?"

Liu Banxia nodded. "Don’t worry, I can manage."

Chen Xuehai quickly got to work; this was no time to delay. Even the nurse had placed a pillow under Liu Banxia’s arm.

"There’s some fluid in the thoracic cavity. A vessel might have been injured," Chen Xuehai frowned after the scan.

"Let’s draw blood for a rapid stat test, then head to the operating room," Liu Banxia said to him.

"Are you sure you can hold out? A blood vessel might be damaged," Chen Xuehai asked again.

Liu Banxia nodded. "After the blood draw, clear the path ahead. We need to be as steady as possible when we move him. I can endure it."

"Alright, that’s the plan then," Chen Xuehai said, giving him a look.

"Shi Lei, inform the child’s mother after her CT scan is done. There’s no time now. But it shouldn’t be too serious; there isn’t much fluid."

Although Liu Banxia sounded calm, everyone in Resuscitation Room One knew this was far from simple.

Chen Xuehai had made his assessment: the tip of the skewer seemed to have nicked a blood vessel.

While there wasn’t much fluid in the thoracic cavity at the moment, it was possible the skewer tip was currently lodged in the vessel. Liu Banxia’s hold on the young patient might be temporarily staunching the bleeding.

However, if they moved too abruptly, the skewer tip could shift. The thoracic cavity housed many major arteries; how much blood would they lose then?

After the blood draw, the team slowly pushed the gurney. They hadn’t gone three meters before sweat beaded on Liu Banxia’s forehead.

Knowing is one thing, doing is another. It might be easier to hold a position while standing still. But now, every step Liu Banxia took required his utmost effort to maintain stability, coordinating his entire body.

Some patients and their families outside watched curiously, wondering what was happening. They knew, however, that if the medical staff was being this cautious, it had to be something serious.

"The operating room is ready," Zhou Shuwen, who had gotten the news, said as he hurried over.

Liu Banxia merely blinked, not daring to speak.

This is truly a tough job; I definitely overestimated myself. Anyway, I’m always ready to exchange for the potion. If I feel my body can’t take it anymore, I’ll use it immediately.

The distance to the emergency operating room wasn’t far; usually, they could rush a patient there in under a minute. This time, it took them nearly ten minutes.

Once they reached the operating room, transferring the patient to the operating table was another challenge. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Should we secure the airway first, then transfer?" Liu Banxia asked.

"If you can hold on, let’s do that. Let’s get all the necessary preparations done," Chen Xuehai replied.

"After the transfer, if the patient’s vitals drop rapidly, we’ll do an open thoracotomy. If you can still hold on, we’ll do a laparoscopy. How about that?"

"Let’s do it," Liu Banxia nodded vehemently.

To the child, he said, "Kid, don’t be scared, I can still hold on. We might sound serious, but that’s because your situation isn’t entirely clear yet."

"The local anesthetic we gave you earlier was practically useless; we’re going to give you general anesthesia shortly. Don’t think about anything, just treat it as a nap. Everyone here is an elite from our emergency center."

The young patient nodded slightly. How could he not be scared?

"Alright, get me a mask and gown," Liu Banxia said to a nurse.

The nurse quickly complied, doing what little she could. Liu Banxia was currently acting as a human support, a mere tool; all they needed to do was ensure he was properly prepped and isolated.

"Banxia, hang on a little longer. We’ll be ready to transfer the patient in about two minutes," Chen Xuehai said.

"OK, it’s not as bad as before; things have improved a lot now," Liu Banxia said.

"Don’t be nervous. We’re inserting this tube to help you breathe more safely," Liang Xiaolin, who was handling the intubation, also reassured the young patient.

"The rapid blood test results are back. Let’s establish IV access. The blood bags are ready," anesthesiologist Li Liwei said.

"Intubation complete," Liang Xiaolin announced, having finished her task.

Chen Xuehai nodded at Li Liwei, who then proceeded to administer anesthesia to the young patient.

"This next part is critical, President Liu. You must maintain the precise angle of the child’s spinal curvature," Chen Xuehai advised.

"Let’s do it. Honestly, if this takes much longer, I don’t think I can hold on," Liu Banxia nodded.

"On my count: one... two... lift! Slow, slow. Support his legs and buttocks, steady his waist."

"Good... good... his lower body is positioned. President Liu, how are you? Doctor Li, what are his vitals?" Chen Xuehai quickly inquired.

"I can still hold on," Liu Banxia’s words seemed forced through gritted teeth.

"Vitals show minor fluctuations, but it’s not a major concern," Li Liwei reported.

"Liang Xiaolin, make the first port and explore," Chen Xuehai ordered.

Liang Xiaolin quickly measured, then made the puncture and began to explore.

"Exploration reveals the skewer has penetrated the middle lobe of the right lung, entering obliquely. There’s blood seepage and fluid in the abdominal cavity. Laparoscopic repair is feasible," Liang Xiaolin reported.

"Okay, make the second and third ports. President Liu, just a little longer. Once we clamp the vessel, it’ll be alright. Judging by the blood color, it’s likely a branch of the right pulmonary vein. Not a major issue," Chen Xuehai said.

Liu Banxia nodded with great effort. Chen Xuehai and Liang Xiaolin worked swiftly.

Their movements were fast, but to Liu Banxia, time seemed to drag on for an eternity.

The operating room was cool, yet he was drenched in sweat.

"Okay, it’s clamped. You can lower the patient now."

Chen Xuehai’s voice sounded like a divine melody to Liu Banxia.

"Hold the child’s shoulders. I’m going to withdraw my hand," Liu Banxia said.

Seeing that they had a firm hold, Liu Banxia slowly pulled his right arm out. However, he could only keep it bent and would need a few minutes for it to recover.

"Alright, go out and get some rest. Tell the child’s mother there’s nothing to worry about. We’ll have this repaired soon," Chen Xuehai said.

"Okay, I’ll head out then," Liu Banxia nodded, finally feeling a sense of relief.

DING! Consultation completed.

Received 200 Experience Points, 50 proficiency points in Diagnostics, 300 proficiency points in Wound Dressing, and 3 Glory Points.

All that hard work wasn’t for nothing, even if I was just a human tool. The child’s condition is stable, and I got so many proficiency points for Wound Dressing—almost as much as for a Level 3 surgery.

"How is he?" Shi Lei asked eagerly when Liu Banxia returned.

"Should be fine now. The skewer had pierced a vein. Where’s the child’s mother? Has she been notified?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Don’t even mention it. She just finished her CT scan and then had a stroke. She’s in neurosurgery for a thrombectomy right now," Shi Lei replied.

"I’ve been thinking, should we just go straight to MRI scans in the future? CT scans aren’t very effective for detecting strokes."

"Unlikely, unless there’s a clear indication. Otherwise, how could we justify it? Angiography is the most direct method; it can reveal both hemorrhages and early-stage embolisms," Liu Banxia said, shaking his head.

"But that’s not feasible either. If we did that, the complaints would pile up like snowdrifts; we’d be measuring them by the pound."

This is one of the drawbacks of CT scans; many early-stage strokes don’t show up. However, diagnostic protocols require starting with less invasive tests and escalating. One can’t just order an MRI immediately simply because a patient has a head laceration and is dry-heaving, as these symptoms could also indicate a concussion.

"Sigh, what a pair, that mother and child," Liu Banxia lamented.

"She was probably just too worried about her child. I’ll have to be more careful myself. Eating in a moving car is just too dangerous."

"How’s your arm? Go rest for a bit if it’s bad," Shi Lei said.

"It’s fine, just a bit numb. It’ll be alright after I rub it for a while," Liu Banxia replied nonchalantly.

"Actually, when you think about it carefully, there are many irreconcilable contradictions within our current medical system. Like your patient just now, and the hemophilia patient I operated on today."

"You could say the human body is just too marvelous. Current medical standards can only cater to the majority; they aren’t always suitable for a small minority of patients."

"What can you do? Individuals will always differ. It’s not like manufactured products, which are all more or less the same when they come off the assembly line," Shi Lei remarked with a laugh.

"Haha, even those can be faulty. Problems can still occur," Liu Banxia said, laughing as well.

Such situations were genuinely frustrating. Sometimes, it was impossible to clearly define right or wrong. The only way was through mutual understanding and minimizing blame as much as possible.

Of course, that was an ideal state. Doctor-patient conflicts were inevitable. If it wasn’t Zhang San, it’d be Li Si.

But the two of them just vented for a bit before moving on. When the next patient came, they would still follow standard procedures. Those were the rules, and working within the established rules was both a constraint and a form of protection.

After a while, Zhou Shuwen came out of his office. He praised Liu Banxia for the commendable way he had acted as a ’human tool’ today.

Not everyone would have dared to put their hand out like that in such a situation. Liu Banxia not only did so but also held on until the very end. That was truly praiseworthy. It might seem like only a vein was nicked, but what if he’d accidentally made a large tear? The child would then have needed an open thoracotomy in the resuscitation room. How much more traumatic would that have been compared to the laparoscopic surgery being done in the operating room now? Those are completely different orders of magnitude. He bought the child a significant amount of time and also ensured a better prognosis.