This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

"Your foot should be able to be saved, but you also need to be mentally prepared for the possibility that it might not be," Du Heng said softly, looking at Wu Shengnan’s nervous expression. "Your foot injury is quite serious, and now it depends on the speed of your recovery. If you recover quickly, your foot has a chance of being saved, but if you recover slowly, the necrotic part will have no chance of recovery and will have to be cut off. But according to my estimate, at most only half would need to be cut off."

"Cut off half?" Wu Shengnan’s mood became a bit gloomy. With the current level of medical expertise, cutting off half might not affect her normal life, but she would definitely have to quit her current job.

However, Du Heng continued, "But it is also possible that only a few toes may need to be cut off."

Wu Shengnan suddenly looked at Du Heng, her eyes brightening. "How many toes? Exactly how many?"

Du Heng smiled. "Maybe one, maybe five. It depends on your recovery. You need to cooperate with my treatment."

This was Du Heng’s true prediction in his heart. Based on what he saw earlier, Wu Shengnan’s foot hadn’t improved but hadn’t worsened either. Du Heng felt that saving the foot should be no problem, but how many toes could be saved was uncertain. At the very least, her big toe now looked like a dead branch; it probably couldn’t be saved.

Upon hearing Du Heng’s words, Wu Shengnan’s mood was like a roller coaster. But after comparing it with her previous fears, losing a few toes was something she could completely accept. She promptly nodded firmly, agreeing with Du Heng that she would definitely cooperate with the treatment.

With Sir Wu Zhong present, Du Heng didn’t say anything more and instead began to help the nurse change Wu Shengnan’s dressings. Although he saw the expression on her face indicating she wanted to continue chatting with him, he left the hospital room after changing the dressings.

Outside the ward, he was stopped by Wu Shengnan’s mother and father, who inquired about Wu Shengnan’s condition in detail. With no alternative, Du Heng repeated to them what he had said in the hospital room.

After excusing himself, Du Heng had just returned to his office when Li Jianwei asked cheerfully, "Xiao Du, it seems that your diagnosis and medication were correct." With a light laugh, Li Jianwei continued with a hint of triumph, "You didn’t see Director Chen’s expression when he left the room. It was priceless." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Du Heng smiled without saying anything. In his heart, though, seeing Director Chen’s expression earlier had been very satisfying.

Li Jianwei laughed twice and then stopped, asking Du Heng, "Xiao Du, based on the current situation, it seems that the medication won’t be able to improve the patient’s foot condition. Is it really impossible to save it at all?"

"If we only rely on the medication, it definitely won’t be enough. At most, we can save half of the foot."

Li Jianwei’s expression turned serious. Saving the lower leg was already considered a success. However, if the foot could not be saved, given the current situation, it would still be a bit regrettable. "So, what are your thoughts?" he asked.

Du Heng also became serious. After finding a stool and sitting down, he said, "Continue to use the ointment today to improve Wu Shengnan’s lower leg and foot condition. Tomorrow, I plan to use acupuncture to strengthen stimulation and accelerate the recovery of blood circulation in her leg."

Li Jianwei leaned back in his chair and pondered. Since yesterday, his thought process had always been a step behind Du Heng’s. At the beginning, when he was considering treatment, he only thought of using an oral prescription and did not consider external ointment. Especially when he saw Wu Shengnan’s leg ulcer, he didn’t even think about applying external ointment. He had the same concerns as the other Western Medicine Doctors, fearing that external ointment acting directly on the ulcerated area would increase the chance of infection. But after seeing Du Heng’s prescription for the ’whole body divine ointment’ yesterday and noticing the combination of anti-inflammatory and muscle-regenerating ingredients, he came to his senses. It wasn’t that he didn’t know, but rather, due to his long experience in internal medicine, he had formed a certain way of thinking. In addition, being influenced by Western medicine for so many years, he never thought of using an external ointment. Now, hearing that acupuncture would also be included, the reason was basically the same. In his long experience of treating patients, he had never used acupuncture. Nowadays, acupuncture is no longer an essential skill for traditional Chinese medicine practitioners but rather a completely separate specialty from decoction medicine. Doctors who see patients in clinics would prescribe decoction medicine, but very few of them are proficient in acupuncture. Those who can use acupuncture for treatment, there are even fewer who can prescribe decoction medicine that complements it. As for himself, let alone being able to use acupuncture, he simply had no concept of using it in his daily life. Thinking about it now, it was really quite funny. Ancient medical texts have long recorded that there are three treasures in traditional Chinese medicine: a bowl of soup, a needle, and a moxa stick. For all illnesses, if the medicine doesn’t work, try acupuncture. If acupuncture doesn’t help, moxibustion must be used. But now, as a Director of the Chinese Medicine Department and a professor at the Traditional Chinese Medicine University, he hadn’t even thought of combining the three treasures. One can only imagine what kind of students he has been teaching.

With a slight sigh, Li Jianwei felt extremely ashamed. Because even if he understood this concept now, he was still powerless to change it. Current school education separates syndrome differentiation, prescription formulation, and acupuncture in their teaching. Although he was now a professor, in terms of acupuncture, he was, to be honest, clueless. He knew acupoints and techniques, but he didn’t know how to use them, nor did he know when to use them. He wasn’t even aware of their application, which was the most frustrating part. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners used to emphasize specialization with versatility. Among the three treasures, one would be their strength, while the other two could also be used in combination despite not mastering them. But today’s traditional Chinese medicine practitioners only specialize and lose the ability to be versatile from the beginning of their education up until their practice. Ah, actually, looking at those who have been selected as National Famous Chinese Medicine Practitioners, which of them were selected because they only knew one thing? They are all proficient in one area and knowledgeable in the other two as well. He should have known this long ago, but he had been deceiving himself, never delving deep into it, and unwilling to delve deep into it.

What was originally a simple conversation between the two of them suddenly turned into Li Jianwei’s self-reflection, which made Li Jianwei feel slightly depressed. After composing himself, he asked Du Heng, "Are you confident about it?"

Du Heng nodded firmly. "I am. I thought about it all night last night—which acupoints to use, the order, and what techniques to employ. I have carefully considered all of this. So, starting tomorrow, using both acupuncture and moxibustion, I will strive to restore blood circulation to Wu Shengnan’s foot within three days. Otherwise, it may be too late."

Du Heng leaned back in his chair, his tone very determined. "In my plan, Wu Shengnan not only needs to keep her lower leg but also her entire foot. At most, she will lose one or two toes. If, in the end, her foot cannot be saved or she’s still disabled, it will be considered a failure for me."

Hearing Du Heng’s words filled with strong confidence, Li Jianwei didn’t ask anything further. What he needed to do now was to take care of all the logistics for Du Heng and provide the most comprehensive support. At this moment, his mood was particularly urgent. He couldn’t wait to notify the school to start work and immediately help Du Heng complete all the enrollment procedures. He was truly afraid that some unforeseen incident would prevent Du Heng from becoming his student.

After controlling his emotions, Li Jianwei asked, "Is there any special arrangement for the patient today?"

Du Heng shook his head. "No, the external ointment has been reapplied, and the decoction medicine should be continued. After I come here tomorrow morning, we’ll start the acupuncture treatment."