Famous Among Top Surgeons in the 90s-Chapter 1898: Different Approaches
"When we arrived this morning, we heard that Yongzhe’s brother was experiencing chest pain. The on-duty doctor notified the patient’s attending doctor to come in and handle it," reported Li Qi’an, his expression as indescribable as the other male students. It was rumored that the patient’s attending doctor was none other than the infamous womanizer, giving them little confidence in Chang Jiawei’s reliability.
To prevent Student Geng from being upset, Ren Chongda had the students rest in the doctor’s office to wait for updates.
The chest pain showed no signs of myocardial infarction on the electrocardiogram, just an increased heart rate. The preliminary cause was suspected to be either bronchitis or an orthopedic issue, so they hadn’t summoned cardiothoracic surgeons. The situation seemed relatively stable and not immediately life-threatening. However, the patient was in pain, and naturally the family was worried. Doctors had to figure out how to manage this. For this type of neural pain, unless surgery is performed to remove the cause, the only pharmaceutical option is to administer pain-relieving injections or even perform a local nerve block (inject drugs along with local anesthesia into the affected nerve area for pain relief and anti-inflammatory effects).
Pain-relieving injections can’t be administered recklessly. They can be addictive and only offer temporary relief without addressing the root cause. Clinical doctors in the country have always been very cautious in using them. The patient’s condition inside was indeed concerning.
"Cao Yong." Hearing he had arrived, Ren Chongda had the class monitor accompany him and walked out of the office to call him.
Cao Yong turned and inquired from his informed colleague, "What’s the patient’s condition?"
Ren Chongda replied, "Chang Jiawei didn’t call you, did he? Last night he mentioned the possibility of needing a neurosurgery consultation. Today, they planned to send for an additional cranial CT. The results of yesterday’s scans show an extradural lesion between the T5 and T7 vertebrae, suspected to be an extradural tumor. Possibly for this reason, Chang Jiawei ordered further CT scans of other areas."
Extradural tumors are often metastatic and commonly malignant. Doctors need to be vigilant. Surgical strategies for malignant tumors differ greatly from benign ones. In spinal surgery, if deemed malignant, the focus isn’t on tumor removal but rather on decompression to prolong the patient’s physiological function, improving quality of life during their remaining time, since excision might be of little benefit. For benign ones, the goal is complete resection to prevent recurrence.
"Where are the scans? Let me take a look," Cao Yong said.
Ren Chongda led him to the office, with everyone trailing behind Cao Yong like a group of assistants.
Last night’s scans were again displayed on the light board. Unable to see clearly from a distance yesterday, Xie Wanying seized the chance today to stand a little closer. Orthopedic imaging is more complex than others. Just one vertebra, anyone who’s studied anatomy knows its intricate structure. Each bone in the human body has its unique shape and physiological significance; understanding the importance of a single bone can be as challenging as studying an organ.
"Here, here," Ren Chongda pointed to the lesion to help Cao Yong quickly grasp the case highlights. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
Cao Yong examined the scans without speaking initially.
"If it’s indeed a metastatic tumor, wouldn’t a full-body CT be more appropriate?" Ren Chongda sought his opinion.
Spinal metastases don’t often originate from the brain, suggesting a low probability of cerebral origin.
While waiting for Senior Cao’s opinion, Xie Wanying could hear her classmates around her beginning to whisper amongst themselves.
