One End, Another Beginning (6)
K Rosette.
Katarina was looking down at the patient, ready for surgery.
Her expression resembled the dark sky before a torrential downpour.
‘Is it really okay?’
Talk. Talk. Talk.
Without realizing it, I kicked the bottom of the rosette with the toe of my shoe.
In fact, she reluctantly followed Kwon Il-soo’s opinion.
If it were a normal heart transplant case, I would not have opposed it, but I was concerned about the difference in heart size between the donor and recipient and the heart tumor found in the donor.
Wouldn’t it be better to wait a little longer to hear from the transplant center?
Even now, that thought has not changed.
But the trigger has already been pulled. The bullet called surgery has already been fired at the patient, and the results will appear in one way or another a few hours later.
Katarina, who was waiting, turned her gaze to the observation room.
The observation room was crowded with deputy hospital directors Parker and Benson, thoracic surgery staff, and guardians.
If the surgery fails, the observation room will be destroyed.
Parker and Benson will pounce like hyenas that have found their prey, and the guardians will shed tears and despair.
Is it an illusion or a premonition that I can already clearly see the scene?
“What about the operating room next door?”
“They say they just successfully removed a heart tumor and completed tenoplasty.”
“Dyeoplasty?”
Katarina’s voice rose one tone.
“yes. “The heart tumor caused a slight deformation of the cord tendon, and it was said that this was corrected.”
After completing the report, the first assistant looked at Katarina’s reaction.
Nevertheless, Katharina looked down at the patient without saying anything.
“professor. What should I do?”
“We also have to prepare quickly.”
The staff members who received her gaze nodded at the same time.
In order for the upcoming heart transplant to proceed smoothly, it was necessary to remove the recipient’s heart in advance.
Under Katarina’s instructions, disinfection of the affected area, connection of the median sternotomy cannula, and connection to the heart-lung machine were carried out smoothly like water.
Rahul’s heart is revealed when the incision is widened.
The heart of a child suffering from heart failure was awaiting transplantation with a young appearance.
The trigger has already been pulled.
Katarina muttered those words to her heart and held the clamp in her hand.
Click! Click! Click! Click!
The vascular forceps clamped the upper part of the major blood vessel mercilessly.
If the blood vessels are not held in this way, bleeding will occur during the incision process.
“Concentrate. “It’s real from now on.”
“yes!”
Katarina’s hand holding the scalpel moved as if dancing.
She left part of the left atrium and cut the blood vessels in that order: superior vena cava, aorta, pulmonary artery, and inferior vena cava.
As time passed, a heart as big as a fist fell on the rock.
The role of the beneficiary team ends here.
Connecting the donor heart to the patient’s major blood vessels is the essence of heart transplant surgery, and this task was handled by Ki-Seok Choi’s team.
Jiyiing.
Just then, the door to the rosette opened and Choi Ki-seok appeared.
There was an icebox in his hand.
* * *
“Did you finish the extraction successfully?”
“yes. no problem.”
Ki-Seok Choi nodded to Katarina’s question.
“I’ll leave the rest to you and Professor Kwon. “I have to go straight to another surgery.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“what. “The real trouble will be you, not me.”
Katarina continued speaking.
“I think I brought this surgery down a difficult path. “But you know that excuses and excuses don’t work, right?”
“of course!”
“You look confident as always.”
“I believe that doctors should always do their best to support patients and their guardians. “If I worry and fear surgery, the patient and guardian will have no one to rely on.”
Katarina’s face stiffened in shock at Choi Ki-seok’s words, but that expression passed for a split second.
“…I forgot something important.”
“yes?”
“no. “It’s not a big deal, so don’t worry about it.”
There was a warm energy in her gaze towards Choi Ki-seok.
“I’ll believe it. The miracle you will perform….”
After Katarina left Rosette, a handover took place with the recipient heart extraction staff.
The recipient extraction team also completed the treatment safely, and the patient’s vitals were also normal.
“Are we meeting again?”
When I turned my head to the familiar voice, Lewis waved his hand.
This is Lewis, the genius anesthesiologist who took Yasada’s vitals perfectly during surgery.
“If it’s Dr. Lewis, I feel safe about this surgery.”
“You wouldn’t blame me if the surgery went wrong, right?”
“Is that possible? “I’m not that mean of a person.”
While talking with Lewis, the heart transplant team staff returned to their positions one by one.
Choi Ki-seok opened the icebox and took out the heart wrapped in plastic.
Afterwards, the plastic was removed and the heart was placed in Rahul’s left ventricle.
Gerard’s blood vessels were definitely large and thick.
It is obvious that the anastomosis process will be a headache.
The staff’s expressions were not very bright, as if they were thinking the same thing.
“From now on, the extracted heart will be anastomosed.”
Kwon Il-su’s shout spread throughout Rosette.
As if waiting for this, Julia, the second assistant, placed the extracted heart into Rahul’s left ventricle, and Ki-Seok Choi held forceps in both hands.
‘It starts now!’
Ki-seok Choi’s eyes lit up and he grabbed Rahul’s superior vena cava with one forceps and Gerrard’s superior vena cava with the other. Then, the ends of both blood vessels were made to face each other.
“professor. “Gaps form because the blood vessels are not the right size.”
“I’m watching too.”
Wrinkles increased on Kwon Il-su’s forehead.
None of the Rosette staff members were able to easily say anything due to the blood-curdling tension.
“Mr. Choi. Insert the forceps into the blood vessel and open it slightly. “Do you know what happens if you don’t control your strength?”
“yes.”
Ki-Seok Choi followed Il-Soo Kwon’s instructions and made both superior vena cava face each other again.
By forcibly stretching Rahul’s blood vessels, the balance of both blood vessels was achieved to some extent.
“It’s a success.”
“As expected, you are Professor Kwon.”
The staff let out an exclamation.
Should I say that I found a ray of light in a dark cave?
It seemed like a new alternative had been found, but Kwon Il-soo could not easily perform the anastomosis.
“Can you keep it that way?”
“….”
Choi Ki-seok couldn’t even open his mouth to Kwon Il-soo’s question.
The answer was replaced by beads of sweat running down his face.
Choi Ki-seok’s assisting skills are said to be top-notch, but this treatment was by no means easy.
One blood vessel must be continuously opened to match the size of the other blood vessel, and the fact that the hand does not tremble during the process is optional. You have to keep using both hands along the way.
“shit. The donor’s blood vessels are thicker than I thought. “We need to find the answer quickly.”
Kwon Il-soo clicked his teeth together without realizing it.
“professor. “I guess there is no other way than what you just said.”
“The anastomosis site is a blood vessel measuring 0.3 millimeters. If you shake, the anastomosis itself will be impossible. In the worst case, blood vessels may be damaged.”
“I think I can do it. No, I will definitely try it.”
Ki-Seok Choi showed confidence and opened a status window.
[Tears of the Soul (Unique)]
– Emotions that come from deep within the heart. New miracles are created from a sincere heart.
– When you complete soul activation, you will receive special effect super awakening.
– Special effect super awakening: Temporarily increases all kill abilities by 3 levels. The duration is six hours, and when the awakening effect ends, you will temporarily fall into exhaustion.
Hehehe.
When I used the super awakening effect, a refreshing energy welled up from deep within my stomach.
Choi Ki-seok received that energy and connected both blood vessels using the method suggested by Song Myeong-jin.
Perhaps thanks to the skill, the treatment was different from before.
Both superior vena cava were aligned exactly and the hands did not tremble. Kwon Il-soo and the staff’s eyes watered at his excitement.
Can treatment change so much in an instant?
“professor.”
“…good. “Let’s try something.”
After Kwon Il-soo corrected his posture, he held the needle holder in his hand.
That was the first step toward heart transplant surgery.
Choi Ki-seok took full advantage of the passive effect to hold the blood vessel, and Kwon Il-soo proceeded with the anastomosis without hesitation, as if he had been waiting for this.
As the hindrance of blood vessel size disappeared, surgery gained momentum as if it had gained wings.
Geek. click. Geek. click.
Amidst the fishy smell of blood, only the sound of treatment tools woke Rosette from silence.
Left ventricle, superior vena cava, aorta, pulmonary artery, inferior vena cava.
Once the anastomosis of the major parts was completed, the surgery time had already exceeded five hours.
“This concludes the anastomosis. Check for leaks.”
“yes!”
Under Kwon Il-soo’s instructions, the second assistant injected saline solution into the blood vessel to check for leaks, and the staff members stared at the blood vessel with their heads bent.
As the saline solution passed through, my blood vessels throbbed.
However, there was no saline leakage.
Even though the blood vessel sizes of the donor and recipient were different, the anastomosis was successfully completed.
“Whew… I thought I was losing my liver. “Mr. Choi, you worked hard.”
Kwon Il-soo relaxed his stiff expression and stared at Choi Ki-seok.
The person who made the biggest contribution to this surgery is Choi Ki-seok.
If he couldn’t hold his veins properly, if his hands were shaking halfway through, he would never have made it this far. As a master of pediatric heart surgery, he could guarantee that much.
“no. “The professor’s judgment, calm treatment, and other staff members were very helpful.”
“Pretending to be humble…”
The staff burst into laughter at Kwon Il-soo’s joke.
“From now on, we will remove the heart-lung machine and open blood flow. “The surgery isn’t over yet, so stay alert.”
“yes!”
When the blood vessel forceps blocking the blood flow were released and the heart-lung machine was removed, the blood vessels began to wriggle like earthworms.
This is evidence that blood is flowing.
“The heart-lung machine operation time is 190 minutes, the aortic blockage time is 100 minutes, and the ischemia time of the donor heart is 150 minutes. “My vitals are still fine.”
In the report of anesthetist Lewis, the staff’s attention was all focused on Rahul’s heart.
“….”
“….”
The staff’s faces slightly distorted in the long silence.
Something was strange.
Even though blood flow was established, the heart did not beat easily.
As if he doesn’t like his new home.
“There is an abnormality in the electrocardiogram graph. “My pulse is getting slower.”
“professor. This is sinus bradycardia. The P wave appears before the QRSP wave, and the RR interval is about four spaces.”
Choi Ki-seok, who checked the electrocardiogram at Lewis’s words, quickly reported.
“Lewis, give me atropine intravenously. “Mr. Choi sprinkles warm saline solution on the heart and Julia prepares the paddle.”
“yes!”
A quick response followed Kwon Il-soo’s instructions.
After the necessary treatment was completed, Kwon Il-su held the paddle in both hands and placed it on his heart.
My heart trembled from the electric current flowing from the paddle.
Perhaps because I came to my senses from the continued electrical stimulation, my heart gradually found its rhythm.
thud. thud. thud.
After checking the heart rhythm, Ki-Seok Choi wondered if this was an illusion, so he shook his head horizontally and looked down at the heart again.
Were you worried? I’m fine.
The heart made a definite movement as if it were saying that.
As bradycardia was detected, heart movement became more active.
At this, the staff, including Choi Ki-seok, looked at each other with overwhelmed eyes.
No words were needed at this moment.
