the beginning (1)
‘As expected, Mr. Choi.’
Emma couldn’t take her eyes off Choi Ki-seok.
Suturing is more difficult in thoracoscopic surgery than in general surgery.
After pushing the surgical tool into the trocar and performing suturing, not only was the field of view narrow, but there were also significant limitations in moving the hands. Nevertheless, Choi Ki-seok’s suturing was not much different from general suturing techniques.
“Emma. What are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was such an idiot.”
click.
As Emma cut the remaining thread with scissors, Ki-Seok Choi began suturing again.
Continuous simple interrupted sutures.
It is the most basic suture that sews up a wound one by one and is a measure of the surgeon’s suturing skills.
“The ligation is good and the knot spacing is even.”
Jeremy, who had been silent, started crying.
“I wasn’t exempted from suturing practice for nothing.”
“thank you for understanding.”
Ki-seok Choi continued suturing without taking his eyes off the monitor.
The diaphragm restoration surgery, which was originally supposed to take 30 minutes, was completed in just 10 minutes.
“Would you like Emma to suture your right diaphragm?”
“My… me?”
“Emma can do it. And even if it’s a little slow, I finish it quickly so it’s no problem.”
“What if I make a mistake? I have no VATS experience.”
Emma’s voice became quiet.
“It’s something I have to do someday. Wouldn’t it be better to experience it in advance when you have the chance?”
“…Then I’ll give it a try.”
Emma, who switched places with Choi Ki-seok, held the surgical tool in her hand.
Thump thump thump thump.
My heart was racing and cold sweat broke out on my back.
For a moment, I felt like my vision had narrowed.
“Don’t be nervous and stay calm. As with everything, if you don’t believe in yourself, you won’t be able to show off your skills.”
“yes.”
Emma nodded and placed the surgical instrument inside the trocar.
Although it was a different process than usual, I calmed down and started suturing.
‘I have talent.’
Choi Ki-seok smiled as he watched Emma’s stable sutures.
Emma, like him, has a hobby of sewing.
The stitching skills he has accumulated over the years are incredible, and if he can demonstrate this in practice, he will become a rookie who follows in his footsteps.
As time passed, restoration of both diaphragms was completed.
“Phew…”
Emma sighed in relief and straightened her back.
“Look, Emma’s good at it too. It’s not much different from my stitching, is it?”
“is that so?”
“I will finish by fixing the fractured area with a 4-hole Sternalock (a type of fixator).”
Choi Ki-seok placed fixators on the 10th and 11th ribs and cleaned up the surgical area.
Tiring!
[Team CPR stat unity has increased by one level.]
[Rapport with Emma has increased to level 4.]
[Emma (Medician) – Level 4: Trust]
[You have successfully performed your first video thoracoscopic surgery on a normal mission. As a reward, 500 P.P.
and a limit stone are provided.]
Notifications rang one after another, but Choi Ki-seok’s expression was not bright.
It’s just heartbreaking that something like this happened to Kevin, who was about to undergo nurse bar surgery.
“Doctor Choi! How was the surgery?”
Kevin’s guardian stood up and approached Choi Ki-seok.
“It ended safely. Don’t worry.”
“thank god.”
The guardian continued in tears.
“It’s all my fault. I had to be away at that time…”
“You don’t have to blame yourself too much. Sometimes, unavoidable situations happen.”
“…Then what happens to Kevin’s pectus excavatum surgery?”
“I can’t give you a definite answer at this time. I think we’ll have to wait and see how it goes.”
“Please take care of me. I want to see our Kevin live a normal life like any other child.”
“Yes. I will do my best.”
After speaking with his guardian, Choi Ki-seok returned to the thoracic surgery ward with his colleagues.
* * *
That afternoon.
Choi Ki-seok was entering inpatient orders at the medical office.
I guess it’s because it’s near the end of the day.
The number of emergency room calls and ward work has decreased.
Ride, ride, ride.
After entering the prescription, I leaned against the back of the chair.
The first free time I had today was as sweet as honey.
‘I guess I’ll have to move now.’
Choi Ki-seok recalled the Powerball winnings in his bank account.
I had enough money in my bank account to waste my entire life. However, I have never thought about how to spend the money.
His goal is to become the best thoracic surgeon.
More than anything, it was important to develop my skills. As a result, my interest in money naturally faded away.
“Hmm…”
I rubbed my chin and was lost in thought.
The first thing that came to mind was to open a restaurant for my younger brother and be dutiful to my parents. However, this is something that should be taken for granted and there will be a lot of money left afterward.
The next thing that came to mind was to return to Korea and open a hospital.
With the money I have now, I could have established and operated a medium-sized hospital.
The problem is that what he wants is not business, but the field of therapy.
‘Would you like to try charity work? Or should we invest in biomedical engineering?’
While Ki-Seok Choi was pondering, he went to the stock website and looked at Mayjo’s stock market.
The time required to complete thoracic surgery training is five years.
Among them, resident training lasts two years and fellow training lasts three years.
In the meantime, I wanted to get insurance.
In order to face the newly appointed Parker, a secret weapon was needed.
Jiyiing.
While I was checking the necessary information, the call phone rang.
“Yes, Professor.”
[Mr. Choi. Do you have any plans for tonight?]
“No, I don’t have any.”
[Good for you. I’m thinking of having dinner with Yasada at Times Square. How about that?]
“If you invite me, of course I have to go.”
Ki-Seok Choi made a dinner date with Myeong-Jin Song and hung up the phone.
After some time, I left the medical office and entered a hospital room.
There was one thing to do before the work day ended.
“hello.”
“Ah yes.”
The patient lying on the bed responded helplessly to Choi Ki-seok’s greeting.
The patient’s name is Jerome.
The patient was involved in the second task among the 12 tasks and suffered from esophageal achalasia.
Esophageal achalasia.
This is a disease in which the esophageal sphincter does not relax sufficiently, causing food to stagnate in the esophagus and causing various diseases at the same time.
“How are you feeling?”
“I feel like I’m dying. My chest feels tight and I keep getting hiccups.”
“An endoscopy is scheduled for tomorrow morning. After confirming the test results, I will probably undergo balloon dilatation surgery.”
“Can I trust you?”
Jerome spoke with a disapproving expression.
“Well, they completely screwed me up at James Hopkins Hospital. They said all they needed to do was medicate those bastards. They ended up like this.”
“Do you have any medical records from there?”
“I already asked my wife to bring me the chart yesterday. Would you like to look at it?”
“of course.”
Choi Ki-seok calmly looked at the chart presented by Jerome.
Jerome received botulinum toxin injections at James Hopkins.
Botulinum toxin injection can temporarily paralyze the lower esophageal sphincter nerve, thereby preventing obstruction.
The problem is that botulinum treatment is a short-term treatment.
And even though Jerome complained of chest pain during treatment, only painkiller prescriptions were added.
“What do you think, Dr. Choi?”
“It’s difficult to say anything because each hospital approaches the disease differently. But…”
“But?”
“I don’t know if it was a good idea to stick to only toxin injection. In the long run, balloon dilatation or surgery is better.”
“Somehow… I thought it was good only at first.”
Jerome gritted his teeth.
“One more thing: patients with achalasia are 50 times more likely to suffer from esophageal cancer than the average person. You must take good care of your body on a daily basis.”
“All right.”
Ki-seok Choi finished talking with Jerome and returned to Uiguk.
After completing the handover and arriving at the MHC lobby, I saw Song Myeong-jin and Yasada having a conversation.
“Teacher Choi. Are you here?”
“Sorry. I’m a little late.”
“It’s okay. I was just deciding where to eat anyway.”
“What do you decide? Today is definitely the day to eat sushi. I’ll buy it.”
Due to Yasada’s strong insistence, the dinner menu was decided to be sushi.
Soon, the three people took a taxi and headed to Times Square.
I saw it on my way to MHC, but Times Square was nothing short of gorgeous.
High-rise buildings are lined up everywhere, and looking at the bright electronic signs and billboards is enough to hurt your eyes.
Three people got off a taxi and sat down at a sushi restaurant.
“Would you like to have a drink today for the first time in a while?”
“It’s good to get out of surgery, right? I can drink comfortably.”
Yasada grunted and responded to Song Myeong-jin’s words.
“That’s the only good thing. You and Mr. Choi only drink accompaniments.”
“Of course I should. Is there any other way?”
Yasada looked at Choi Ki-seok and continued speaking.
“I understand you’ve had a heart transplant. Is it okay to drink alcohol?”
“The accompaniment doesn’t matter. If the heart transplant had been a problem in the first place, I wouldn’t have come this far.”
“That’s true. Actually, it took two full days during the conjoined twin surgery.”
While we were talking, food and snacks arrived.
The three people started a full-fledged conversation.
“Doctor Choi. Are you doing well with your surgical practice? Don’t you need more cadavers?”
“Ah. Yes, it’s okay. I’m just practicing slowly.”
Choi Ki-seok looked around roughly.
Actually, since we were practicing in the training room, there was no need for a cadaver.
But I can’t tell that fact to Song Myeong-jin.
I am grateful for my teacher’s help, but I plan to just pretend to practice.
“That’s right. There’s no need to relax too much from the beginning, so take it easy.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“The heart transplant replacement surgery you mentioned last time. Did you hand it over to Mr. Choi?”
“Dr. Choi is better suited to complete surgery than I am. I can’t practice as passionately as Dr. Choi.”
“I don’t like it. The person I knew wasn’t like this.”
“They say people change. But that doesn’t mean my feelings toward patients have changed.”
Song Myeong-jin paused before continuing.
“By the way, there was a resident who resigned from the Department of Thoracic Surgery? What was the reason?”
“Was there a resident who resigned? I didn’t know.”
Ki-Seok Choi’s voice rose at the unexpected news.
“The residents who resigned are all in their second year. I talked to them and they said they had no complaints about life at MHC.”
“That’s a contradiction. If you’re not dissatisfied, why do you resign?”
“Because I received a scouting offer from James Hopkins.”
Yasada took a sip of his drink and continued speaking.
“They said they would pay up to 1.5 times the annual salary of MHC. Even shortening the fellow training period was an option.”
“Getting people out… It’s a classic tactic…”
“Nothing is as effective as the classic method. I tried persuading him, but it never worked. I’ll have to get it out sooner or later.”
“I don’t know why James Hopkins is showing up like this. This is no different from a declaration of war on the MHC.”
“It’s a declaration of war. James Hopkins’ head chief is a man of interest. “You probably want to regain the interest of the community that was lost when the MHC was created.”
“It’s a pain in the ass. If you follow what you said, it won’t end with the staff being taken away…”
A wrinkle appeared on Song Myeong-jin’s forehead.
