The Surgeon's Studio

Miao Xiaohua did not wake from anesthesia. When the effects of the muscle relaxant faded, Chu Yanran administered a dose of sedative to stabilize the patient before transporting her to the ICU.

Miao Xiaohua’s family had yet to arrive at the hospital as there were some delays in contacting the family. The surgery was prioritized as it was critical to the patient’s survival.

Chu Yanzhi was on the stretcher trolley operating the ventilation bag while Zheng Ren and Su Yun pushed. Chu Yanran escorted the party and ensured the right buttons were pressed at the elevators.

They reached the ICU at record speed and quickly hooked the patient up to the ventilator and monitors. Once everything was set up, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Miao Xiaohua’s vital signs remained outside the healthy range but the numbers were gradually improving. The electrocardiogram showed a steady rhythm. Things were looking good for her.

Su Yun’s arrival in the ICU was like a homecoming. The surrounding nurses all greeted him with cheer. He moved a folding chair to Miao Xiaohua’s bedside and started noting down her vitals on a piece of A4 paper.

Zheng Ren had nothing to say against Su Yun’s experience in intensive care.

He felt better with Su Yun in charge of the post-surgery monitoring. Although the nancy boy was a pain in the neck, he had demonstrated his proficiency in patient aftercare.

Their attention was on the patient’s vital signs. After a few minutes, Zheng Ren decided the patient was stable after transport and said to Su Yun, “All yours”

Su Yun nodded. He was to record the infusion and excretion volumes every five minutes. He also arranged for a medical test to determine the appropriate course of action.

Zheng Ren turned to leave the ICU. The department was a cacophony of beeps from all sorts of medical equipment.

It was the melody of life.

As Zheng Ren walked out of the ICU, he replayed the surgery in his mind.

The System scored the surgery 92%. Under such dire circumstances, the score was undoubtedly stellar but was not perfect.

There was a niggling doubt in Zheng Ren’s heart. He surmised that his first incision might have been overly hasty and the electrocautery used to stop the bleed might have damaged the blood vessel. These factors likely led to a lower score.

‘Is it possible to improve the surgery?’ Zheng Ren thought.

In that scenario, the main objective was to stop the internal bleeding. Minor damages to the skin and muscle layers were not important.

He could not value perfection over the life of the patient.

The Master level general surgery skill was impressive but was still a long way from Prime.

As he had had a brief experience of being at the peak, Zheng Ren was not overjoyed with his skills. Instead, he focused on the gap between the present and the future.

He called Xie Yiren as he walked through the hospital.

He had some time on his hands and thought to chat with her, hoping to distract her from her sadness.

It was Chu Yanzhi who answered the call. She told him Xie Yiren was taking a shower. They planned to go out and eat away their sorrow.

Zheng Ren smiled and ended the call.

If she could eat, she had to be feeling better.

He was back in the emergency department when he saw a young girl with pigtails bouncing around the corridor.

The girl was familiar but he could not recall who she was.

“Brother. Hi again.” The pigtailed girl ran to Zheng Ren’s side and smiled adorably at him.

“Liu…” Zheng Ren vaguely remembered her last name. It was the young patient who had acute appendicitis. She looked older now; Zheng Ren figured she was about 18 years old[1].

“It’s Liu Xinyu!” The pigtailed girl pouted in faux anger.

“Ah. Why are you here? Are you unwell?” The name jogged his memory.

Liu Xinyu did not answer his question. Instead, she took the pen in Zheng Ren’s white coat and wrote a Chinese character on his palm.

“It’s this ‘yu’ character. Don’t forget it,” Liu Xinyu said.

Zheng Ren looked at the neat handwriting and chuckled.

He would not be forgetting anytime soon.

“I’m taking the night train to Jinmen.”

“Oh. I remembered you were going to attend a training camp,” Zheng Ren said.

Liu Xinyu was a music scholar who played the cello. She was on course to apply to the Jinmen Academy of Music but before that, she had to improve her cello skill.

“Exactly. I dropped by to bid you farewell.” Liu Xinyu’s eyes brightened at the mention of her future in Jinmen.

“Study hard and good luck,” Zheng Ren encouraged.

“I definitely will.” Liu Xinyu gave him a playful smile and said, “When I get into Jinmen Academy of Music, you have to treat me to a meal.”

“Sure.”

“Hand me your phone. Let’s exchange contacts so you won’t ghost me.” Liu Xinyu unlocked his phone and opened the WeChat app. She swiped to the 2D barcode page.

During this whole exchange, Zheng Ren was in a muddled state of mind. All his energy had been consumed by the emergency surgery and his 140-IQ brain was not functioning at its best.

With their contacts swapped, Liu Xinyu bade him a final goodbye before skipping away.

The bouncing pigtails reminded Zheng Ren of his last day of high school, when he parted ways with his deskmate.

Zheng Ren smiled at the independent girl.

When he got back to the emergency wards, Zheng Ren saw a middle-aged couple in the office. The woman was rubbing tears from her eyes while the man paced around.

“You are…” Zheng Ren had an inkling of who they were but it was best to confirm.

“They are Miao Xiaohua’s parents. They arrived five minutes ago and I told them to wait here,” Chang Yue introduced.

“Nice to meet you.” Zheng Ren extended his hand for a shake.

Throughout the exchange, Zheng Ren felt the coldness of their hands.

“Let’s get to the point: Miao Xiaohua’s rescue surgery was successful. She is currently resting in the ICU, monitored by the best intensive care doctor we have.” Zheng Ren delivered the good news in one breath without keeping the parents in suspense.

Hearing this, an expression of relief and respect broke out on the couple’s faces.

“Have a seat, I’ll explain the incident.” Zheng Ren gestured to the chairs and explained the whole situation to the parents.

He told them everything — the gastroenterology procedure, the interventional radiology procedure and the abdominal surgery. They listened in shock.

Their reaction was understandable as the gory details Zheng Ren went through had happened to their daughter.

A few minutes too late and she would have died.

Had Xie Yiren not been by her side…

If Zheng Ren had not rushed to the gastroenterology department to perform the emergency rescue…

If interventional radiology had not been an available option…

If the search for the left gastric artery rupture had been too slow…

There were many turning points in the story that could have led to their daughter’s death.

Fortunately, fate had taken the right turn at every juncture.

[1] I guess the author really meant the patient was 15-16 years old back in chapter 132.