Saber Surgery (4)
“I can’t believe the professor failed.”
“So, it is a difficult surgery and domestic thoracic surgeons will be reluctant to do it.”
Song Myeong-jin calmly continued his explanation.
There were two main reasons why the patient died during surgery.
One is that the patient is over 60 years old.
Another thing is that the Mayjo Hospital staff had a low level of understanding of surgery.
Since Saber cases were rare even in Meijo…
“But you may be different from me. I believe that with the condition of the Saber team’s case and the abilities of the team members here, the surgery will be successful.”
Myungjin Song additionally provided information on how to shorten the surgery time, how to manage the patient’s vital signs, and how to deal with unexpected situations.
The team members showed a passionate attitude by even taking notes.
Saber surgery is coming tomorrow.
Not only the patient’s life but also the future of the team members depends on this.
“I think the explanation is enough.”
“Yes. I’m sorry, but please ask me one more time.”
Hyukpil Jang bowed his head towards Myungjin Song. At this, the team members tilted their heads and nodded.
The lectures so far have been of great help.
Is there anything else I can ask for here?
“Professor. I think we have to go to surgery.”
When Kang Hana got up from her seat, Yoo Byung-se and Shin A-reum followed suit. Thirty minutes later, the three had to stand in Chief Cho Ji-hwan’s lung cancer surgery scrub.
“Thank you for your hard work. Take care of your condition and see you again tomorrow morning.”
“yes.”
“Good luck.”
As the assistant staff left, only the sergeants remained.
“Professor, this way. You two follow me too.”
Jang Hyuk-pil took the lead, followed by three others.
After a while, we arrived at the operating room.
Choi Ki-seok and Kim Tae-sik scrubbed without even knowing what was going on.
Gourd. Gourd. Gourd. Gourd.
When I scratched my skin from my fingers to my elbow with a brush coated in Betadine, my skin stung. However, scrubbing is something that must be done thoroughly even if it hurts. It is 100 times better to be sick for a while than to cause an infection in the patient due to a poor scrub.
After the scrub was over, the staff all entered the rosette.
‘There won’t be any surgery schedule today…’
Choi Ki-seok approached the operating table and looked at the patient lying down. Then I discovered something strange. Even though no anesthesia was administered, the patient did not even move slightly.
That’s not all.
I placed my finger on the tip of the patient’s nose, but I could not feel any breathing.
“Ah… what you said yesterday…”
“That’s right. This is Fresh Cadeva.”
Fresh Cadeva is Cadaver that has not been treated with formalin.
The advantage of Fresh Cadeva is that it is fresh enough for joints and muscles to move. The downside is that it is difficult to obtain and the risk of infection is high.
“I thought the soles of my feet were on fire trying to save this. I guess my heart stopped not long ago.”
“You are truly amazing.”
Choi Ki-seok spoke with sincerity.
The tenacity that saved Fresh Cadeva and the idea to bring in Myungjin Song from abroad to receive teachings.
Both deserve applause.
Would you say that an expert at level 7 political power is different even if something is different?
“If you know, work hard tomorrow. If you mess up from the first step, there is no answer.”
“Enough chit chat, let’s get started.”
“I’m sorry, Professor. Kids.”
Under Jang Hyuk-pil’s instructions, the roles of Saber surgery using the Fresh Cadaver were divided.
The surgeon was Song Myeong-jin and the first assistant was Jang Hyuk-pil.
Choi Ki-seok took on the role of the disinfection nurse and opened Kim Tae-sik’s retractor.
This combination is possible because it is an abbreviated surgery between surgical procedures.
“Not twice. Everyone, don’t miss a moment.”
“yes!”
The three people responded courageously to Song Myeong-jin’s request.
[Use the dragon’s eye. Automatically secures the optimal surgical field of view. Enter video mode and record video.]
Ki-Seok Choi used the skill and carefully observed the surgical process.
The Saber surgery scheduled for tomorrow will never fail.
* * *
Early morning the next day.
Ki-Seok Choi opened his eyes while taking a nap in the duty room.
As I stared at the ceiling with a blank face, the video of the Cadaver Saber surgery that I had watched yesterday unfolded.
“Me too.”
I turned off the video and scratched the back of my head.
Even though I slept only briefly, I dreamed of performing Saber surgery myself.
To that extent, the entire body and mind were immersed in Saber surgery.
Even looking back on the past, there has never been a video surgery that we looked into so desperately.
Shoot.
As soon as I took a hot shower in the bathroom, my fatigue went away.
Choi Ki-seok sat on the bed and crossed his legs. Then, with both eyes closed, the video of the Cadaver Saber surgery was played again.
The first replay focused on the surgical procedure.
From blood clot removal in the left ventricle to coronary artery bypass surgery, mitral valve reconstruction, left ventricle reduction and reconstruction.
I captured the subtle changes in the process in my mind.
In the second playback, the focus was on Song Myeong-jin’s performance and Jang Hyuk-pil’s assistance.
Song Myung-jin’s unstoppable scalpel.
Suturing with speed and accuracy.
Jang Hyuk-pil’s perfect assistant, who does not miss a single move of Song Myeong-jin.
‘What is this?’
Choi Ki-seok trembled.
Perhaps because he was so absorbed in the video, he felt like he had become Jang Hyuk-pil.
Even though I am watching the video, it feels like I am holding the suture tissue with direct suction. As
the
alarm rang, the unfamiliar sensation disappeared from nowhere.
Choi Ki-seok left the duty room feeling disappointed.
The current time is 6 am.
I have to finish my work as a first-year resident before the morning meeting.
While I was working in the conference room, my phone rang.
“Uh, it’s a snowflake.”
[Today is Saber’s surgery day, right? I called to tell you to cheer up.]
“As expected, Seolhwa is the only one who worries about me.”
[You just need to know.]
Jeong Seol-hwa’s voice was filled with laughter.
[Don’t be nervous, just do it like you normally do. I trust you.]
“Thank you. You will definitely succeed, so don’t worry.”
[huh. Fighting!]
Jeong Seol-hwa hung up the phone with a loud sound from her lips, and Choi Ki-seok looked down at his phone with a smile.
My whole body felt warm thanks to the support of my loved one.
Drurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
“Senior. Could you please look after patient Min-kyung Moon?”
Youngho Lee asked with an urgent expression.
“Why? Is there something wrong?”
“Well… he suddenly said he wouldn’t have surgery.”
“okay.”
Choi Ki-seok abandoned what he was doing and headed to Moon Min-kyung’s hospital room.
Moon Min-kyung was chattering her teeth out of nervousness.
“Doctor, are you here? I’ve been thinking about it again, but I think it would be better not to have surgery.”
“Why did you suddenly change your mind?”
“I became scared of surgery. If I close my eyes on the operating table, I think I’ll never wake up again.”
“I completely understand the patient’s feelings. This is the first surgery and it is a difficult heart surgery.”
Choi Ki-seok smiled softly and placed his hand on Moon Min-kyung’s hand.
“But don’t worry too much. Many staff members have worked hard to save the patient. And those efforts will never be in vain.”
“You’re sure it’s okay, right?”
Choi Ki-seok did not respond to Moon Min-kyung’s words.
I just nodded slightly.
“I’m sorry. I was acting capricious for no reason. But when I woke up in the morning, I was so scared.”
“It’s natural. Don’t worry too much about it.”
Choi Ki-seok used encouragement on Moon Min-kyung and left the hospital room.
“Phew…”
I sighed naturally.
If there’s anything scarier than Saber’s surgery, it’s Moon Min-kyung refusing the surgery.
A shiver ran down my spine as I recalled the time when I couldn’t convince her.
“Wow. Senpai, you’re calm.”
Youngho Lee, who was nearby, spoke up.
“When that patient said he didn’t want to have surgery, my head went blank.”
“There is no need to panic too much if the patient comes out strong. First, you can figure out why the patient is behaving that way and calmly soothe him.”
“Understand their behavior and calmly appease them….”
Youngho Lee muttered and made a note in his notebook.
“Why do you write down such things so shamefully?”
“I want to resemble my senior from head to toe.”
“No thanks?”
The two people looked at each other and exchanged smiles.
Eventually, the morning meeting and rounds ended successfully.
Choi Ki-seok stared at the clock while doing miscellaneous work in the conference room.
There is little time left for the decisive battle.
* * *
10 a.m.
The observation operating room was crowded with thoracic surgery staff.
Today was the day of the Saber team’s first case surgery, and everyone’s attention was bound to be focused.
Even several staff members from other departments who were interested in thoracic surgery came to observe.
Among them was Noh Ki-hyung, head of plastic surgery.
‘It’s complicated.’
A bitter smile appeared on Nogi-hyung’s lips.
I didn’t want the patient to die, but I wanted the surgery to fail.
If Jo Ji-hwan’s personality is anything to go by, he will not leave his teammates alone after the surgery failed.
Then, the Saber team will naturally disband, and some employees may quit the hospital due to pressure from Jo Ji-hwan.
That’s when Nogi-hyung steps forward.
He plans to bring the abandoned Choi Ki-seok to a plastic surgery clinic.
Even now, when I close my eyes, the image of Choi Ki-seok assisting with resin bonding comes to mind.
Perfect assisting skills that make it hard to believe that he is only in his first year.
If Choi Ki-seok is trained well at a plastic surgery clinic, it will be no different from winning a thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses.
“I didn’t know that Chief Noh was interested in thoracic surgery.”
“Hmm. Although the fields are different, surgery is surgery.”
“I believe this is Director Noh’s first time visiting the thoracic surgery department…”
“I often came here when Director Cho wasn’t around.”
“I see. Please stop by often in the future.”
Jo Ji-hwan did not ask any more questions about the visit.
From Nogi-hyung’s perspective, it was a good thing. If you had asked me what surgery I attended, I would have been stumped.
“Professor Kwon, what do you think about this surgery?”
“If the Saber team prepared well, I think the success rate would be over 70 percent.”
“The score is generous?”
“Yes. I heard that Professor Song gave a special lesson to the Saber team yesterday. Without that, the success rate would have dropped to 50 percent.”
“Professor Song’s lesson…”
Jo Ji-hwan rubbed his chin.
Although I dislike the human Song Myeong-jin, I have no choice but to acknowledge his abilities as a sergeant. Moreover, if a problem arises during surgery today, I may be able to get some help.
“By the way, doesn’t the Norwood team do case surgery? There are less than two weeks left until the remodeling.”
While the two were talking, Song Myeong-jin came in.
Song Myeong-jin deliberately took a seat a little further away from the other staff.
“Hello Professor.”
“You…”
“Yes. This is Jihoon.”
Seo Ji-hoon greeted politely and sat down next to him.
Song Myung-jin stared at Seo Ji-hoon in silence for a while.
My emotions were complicated.
Seo Ji-hoon was the first disciple he chose after much deliberation. Since he had shown exceptional talent since his intern days, we managed to persuade him and brought him to the thoracic surgery department.
But Seo Ji-hoon left him.
I left the hospital without prior consultation and became a military doctor.
I later heard from someone else that I quit my job in thoracic surgery because it was difficult.
“I was sorry about the past.”
“It was a long time ago, so don’t worry about it.”
Song Myeong-jin calmly waved his hand.
“By the way, you’re back in thoracic surgery again? I thought you’d go to a different department…”
“It just so happened that I ended up like that.”
“It just so happens… I don’t think he came back with that mindset…”
“To be honest, it’s because of Kiseok.”
After a pause, Seo Ji-hoon continued speaking.
“I was inspired by the story that Kiseok was better than me. I wanted to see what kind of friend he was and defeat him.”
“That’s true of Mr. Seo. But Mr. Seo will never beat Mr. Choi. I guarantee that.”
“That’s it for now, but I’ll catch up with time. In fact, I’ve never learned to kill at full strength.”
“You still don’t know something.”
“What do you mean?”
“There is a critical difference between Mr. Seo and Mr. Choi. That difference will probably not be bridged in our lifetime.”
Song Myeong-jin finished speaking and stared at the monitor.
Saber team members were entering Rosette.
