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The bronchus, pulmonary artery, and pulmonary vein were sutured sequentially.
Although it was a highly difficult bilateral lung transplant, Yasada continued the procedure as if suturing the skin.
‘amazing.’
Choi Ki-seok couldn’t help but be impressed by Yasada’s skills.
Why transplant surgery is difficult.
This is because the surgical field of view is narrow and there is a high risk of touching the nerves during transplantation.
However, Yasada seemed to be able to see through all the surgical sites.
That’s not all.
In the past, Choi Ki-seok had seen Song Myeong-jin perform a lung transplant at Uijin University. However, Yasada is showing off much neater skills than Song Myeong-jin at the time.
“Professor. Does Dr. Yasada only treat pulmonary esophagus?”
“Yes, my specialty is pulmonary esophagus and robotic surgery.”
“no wonder.”
Choi Ki-seok nodded slightly.
Myeongjin Song had both cardiac surgery and pulmonary and esophageal surgery fellow qualifications, while Yasada only had pulmonary and esophageal surgery qualifications. That’s probably why the surgery made a difference.
After a round of questions and answers, the two people’s eyes turned to the monitor.
The surgery is nearing its end.
Bleep. Bleep.
The patient monitoring device made an ominous electronic sound.
“Yasada. Your blood pressure is dropping.”
“Administer vasopressors and William check for bleeding points in the left upper pulmonary artery.”
“All right.”
William frowned while examining the pulmonary artery.
There was bleeding in the area where the pulmonary artery connects to the trachea.
It wasn’t a suturing problem, and it looks like the first assistant accidentally caused the wound.
Cheeeeeeeek.
When the bleeding area was controlled with electrocautery, his vitals stabilized.
‘I have no choice but to admit it.’
William glanced at Yasada and bit his lip.
Yasada used tweezers to find the bleeding site without directly examining the lungs. This means that they are aware of all surgical procedures and even the movements of the staff.
A truly terrifying ability.
‘Tch. Why would two Asians be occupying a thoracic surgery department?’
William muttered to himself.
Eventually, the transplant surgery was completed with pulmonary vein anastomosis.
Drurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
When the heart-lung machine was disconnected, everyone’s eyes turned to the patient monitoring device.
As my heart beat while I was asleep, my blood pressure and pulse gradually rose.
Oxygen saturation also indicated normal.
The simultaneous heart-lung transplant surgery, which took more than 9 hours, was completed in 5 hours.
Even though Choi Ki-seok finished filming the video, he could not take his eyes off the monitor.
Something was welling up in my chest.
“Then shall we get up soon?”
“….”
“Mr. Choi?”
“Ah. Sorry. I was thinking for a moment.”
Choi Ki-seok left the operating room with Song Myeong-jin and headed to the parking lot.
Eventually, the car left the parking lot and drove down the road.
“You learned a lot today, right?”
“Yes. I was able to see what Meijo Hospital is like and I feel like I became more motivated. I want to become a doctor who is like a combination of the professor and Mr. Yasada.”
“Hahaha. You have great aspirations, don’t you?”
Song Myeong-jin chuckled and continued speaking.
“But if you are Teacher Choi, you can do it. I believe.”
“I will definitely repay your trust.”
Choi Ki-seok answered confidently and stared out the window. The setting sky was colored with the color of the setting sun.
The time difference between Minnesota and Korea is 15 hours.
The staff at Uijin University must be busy at work.
“We’re here. There we are.”
When the car stopped at a traffic light, Song Myeong-jin pointed to a townhouse with his index finger.
The exterior of the building is neater and more modern than expected.
Most of the tenement houses shown in foreign dramas looked shabby, but the place where Song Myeong-jin lives did not.
“Are you disappointed?”
“No, Professor. It’s cool enough.”
“I rarely stay at home, so there’s no need to live in a nice place, right? So I chose a place close to the hospital at an affordable price.”
Song Myeong-jin parked the car in the parking lot and Choi Ki-seok got out and took out the suitcase.
‘uh?’
Choi Ki-seok looked at the entrance to the house and tilted his head.
An Asian mother and daughter were approaching this way.
The mother looked like she was in her early 30s, and the daughter looked like she was in kindergarten.
Chinese? Japanese? Or is he Korean?
“hello.”
While Choi Ki-seok was thinking alone, Song Myeong-jin spoke to the mother and daughter.
“hello teacher.”
“hello.”
Mother and daughter were greeted in familiar Korean.
“Are you going out to buy groceries?”
“Yes. The refrigerator is empty. But what about the person next to me?”
“Hello, my name is Choi Ki-seok. I am a doctor at Uijin University Hospital and I followed the professor to Minnesota.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Choi. My name is Kim Hye-jin and my daughter is Jin Hye-yeon.”
“Nice to meet you. Hello to you too, Hyeyeon.”
“hello.”
Choi Ki-seok smiled at Jeon Hye-bin’s belly button greeting.
“It feels different to use Korean like this after only speaking English all day.”
“Is that so? I’m lucky to have met Hyejin’s family.”
Song Myeong-jin nodded slightly.
“It’s the same for us. Since we have a new guest, I think we should at least make pancakes for dinner tonight.”
“If you give it to me, I won’t decline it.”
After chatting with Kim Hye-jin, I entered the building.
Slam!
The door to room 301 opened and the interior was revealed.
The room was about 15 pyeong, had two rooms, and a rather narrow living room.
“Hmm… I haven’t been home for a few days and it’s a mess.”
Song Myeong-jin cleared his throat as he scanned the house.
The condition of the room is incredible.
Laundry was strewn about, and dishes were lined up at the sink waiting to be washed.
When I took a deep breath, a musty smell tickled my nose.
“I’m unpacking my things in the room over there. I’m going to clean.”
“yes.”
Choi Ki-seok went into the room and started unpacking.
I’m almost done with organizing the clothes and putting them in the closet.
Since I was going to buy daily necessities in Minnesota, I didn’t pack them separately.
“Good.”
Ki-Seok Choi finally placed the small picture frame on the desk.
Inside the frame was a photo taken when Jeong Seol-hwa and I went on a trip.
After staring at the photo, I shifted my gaze to the couple ring.
My longing for Jeong Seol-hwa deepened, but I suppressed it and left the room.
“Professor. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“If you have some free time, could you do the dishes for me?”
“yes.”
After a while, the cleaning and dishes were finished.
A small table was placed in the center of the living room, and beer and snacks were placed on top of it.
The second thing is a drinking party with the teacher.
However, this time I drank real alcohol, not water.
Choi Ki-seok spent time talking deeply with Song Myeong-jin.
So the first day in Minnesota passed.
* * *
It has been three days since I left Korea.
Choi Ki-seok’s routine was simple.
During work hours, I read the Mayjo Clinic manual and ate my meals.
In the evening, I edited my application and prepared for the interview.
When I felt frustrated, I went for a walk every now and then.
It was a simple but hellish life.
My mind is already at the Mayjo Clinic, but my body is tied up at home.
It was my fourth day in Minnesota.
Ki-Seok Choi was, without fail, looking at Mayjo Clinic’s surgical manual.
‘For sure…’
He stroked his chin with his hand.
Here’s what I felt while reading the manual.
Mayjo and Uijindae have different approaches to patients.
While the medical school focused on the disease in question, the Meijo carefully considered the linkages with other departments and other diseases.
For example, let’s say a patient has coronary artery disease.
In this case, Meijo was supposed to provide basic care in cardiology and thoracic surgery, and in some cases, even provide joint care in neuropsychiatry or gastrointestinal surgery.
This means examining the etiology from various perspectives.
This is probably why Meijo is praised by patients.
widely!
Ki-Seok Choi closed the manual and turned on the laptop.
My hands typing on the keyboard trembled slightly.
Today is the day USMLE and TOEFL scores come out.
I knew my score would be good, but I couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Click. Click.
I clicked the mouse and opened my closed eyes.
“yes!”
I checked the score and raised my hands.
I got a perfect score on the USMLE exam.
I gathered momentum and checked my TOEFL score, and it came out to be 115.
This is also a close to perfect score. If you prepare well for the interview, you are guaranteed to get a job as a major.
Ki-Seok Choi tried to drink cold water in the living room to calm his excited mind.
But there was no bottled water.
Even the refrigerator was empty and there was nothing to drink.
Choi Ki-seok made up his mind and went outside and got into Song Myeong-jin’s car. This is because Song Myeong-jin left his car behind and went to work.
After using the navigation and driving for an hour, I saw a mart.
‘This is work too.’
I got out of the car and smiled bitterly.
In Korea, there were various stores, including convenience stores, within a 5-minute walk. However, in the United States, even if you want to buy just one item, you have to drive out.
Drurr.
I bought daily necessities while pushing a cart.
The supermarket was so large and had so many products that it was fun to look inside.
While wandering around the supermarket, I arrived at the medical section.
From various medicines to dental fillings, it felt like I was looking at a small hospital rather than a pharmacy.
In the United States, there is no medical insurance, so it is difficult to cover the exorbitant medical expenses. So, I heard that he does most of the treatment himself, and when I saw this place, I was able to realize that story.
“It’s annoying. Why is Yellow Monkey in the supermarket?”
“That’s right. I hope it goes out quickly.”
An unpleasant voice came from behind me.
When he turned around, he saw two white men laughing at him.
‘Ha… these are real.’
Steam rose from the cap of the head.
It is impossible for anyone to maintain composure after being treated like a monkey.
“What are you looking at? Is there a problem?”
“Just leave it alone. Can the monkey understand us?”
As the gazes of Choi Ki-seok and the two white people collided, tension arose.
As a result, several people around them showed curiosity towards the two people.
“Do even pigs talk in America?”
Choi Ki-seok spoke for both people to hear and left the section. However, as I was about to pass through the aisle, the white people from earlier blocked my path with a cart.
“Hey. Did you just call us pigs?”
The tall fat man frowned.
“You guys called me a monkey. Should I just stay silent after hearing such insulting words?”
“You’re a real monkey.”
“That’s right. That’s right. Ukkkkkkkkk.”
The short fat man next to me imitated a monkey.
“Get out. Don’t talk like you’re slitting a pig.”
“Did this guy go crazy because he wanted to die?”
The tall fat man quickly narrowed the distance, and Choi Ki-seok used Tyrant’s Descent.
[There is no patient to subdue. Agility and strength temporarily increase.]
“You little monkey. You know where this is.”
A tall fat man grabbed me by the collar.
widely!
Choi Ki-seok slapped the fat man’s hand away and frowned.
“I told you not to install it?”
“Huh. See how your eyes are rolling?”
The fat guy punched him in the face, but he easily dodged it and widened the distance. Then the fat man blushed and rushed forward like a bulldozer.
Choi Ki-seok acted as if he was going to deal with him, but dodged to the side.
“Huh? Huh?”
thud!
A tall fat man crashed into a display case, fell over, and various items fell on top of him.
“What…what!”
The short fat man stamped his feet at the unexpected result.
The tall fat man groaned and didn’t know how to wake up.
Meanwhile, several employees hurriedly rushed to the medical section.
“Is there a problem?”
