Surgery Godfather-Chapter 549 - 499: Aim for the Heart

The flight took off early, yet it was still past noon when they arrived back in China.

Upon landing, Yang Ping immediately led everyone towards their department. At this time, Director Han and Professor Zhang were huddled around a computer, while Li Guodong sat next to them, typing on the keyboard.

Their eyes were rimmed with dark circles. Had they been pulling an all-nighter for emergency surgery? Did even Professor Zhang go on stage?

Currently, the Surgical Research Institute treats all sorts of patients, but emergency surgeries are rather rare. Most of the cases are complicated ones, referring here in hopes of a miracle resolution.

When Director Han looked up and saw Yang Ping and the others entering, he rubbed his sleep-filled eyes and sounded somewhat angry:

"Why didn’t you guys go back to rest? Come to work tomorrow!"

Professor Zhang checked the time: "You came directly to the department after landing? You should go and rest first."

"We got a few hours of sleep on the airplane."

Upon returning, Yang Ping felt an instantaneous sense of home. Familiar people, familiar scenes, brought great warmth to his heart.

"We had an emergency case of spontaneous bleeding from the conus medullaris that resulted in paralysis and bowel and bladder dysfunction. Old Zhang and I performed emergency surgery on him in the middle of the night," Director Han explained why the two looked so frazzled.

The angiographic images of the spinal cord on the electronic screen showed an abnormal blood vessel supplying the conus medullaris. The cause of this hemorrhage was similar to that of spontaneous cerebral vascular malformation hemorrhage. The difference was that this occurred in the spinal cord.

The conus medullaris is the terminal part of the spinal cord. Once damaged, it can cause incontinence.

Therefore, in cases of spontaneous spinal cord bleeding that lead to neurological symptoms, emergency surgery is required.

Director Han seemed fine, but Old Zhang was at the age of 80 and couldn’t keep up.

"Old Zhang, you should go back and rest," Director Han suggested sympathetically.

He then turned to Yang Ping and said: "I tried to stop him from coming, but he’s stubborn and insisted."

Old Zhang waved his hand: "I’m an 80-year-old man. What do I have to fear from sudden death?"

"Doctor Yang, has everyone returned?"

At this time, Director Tian Yuan walked into the office. Yang Ping was surprised. Had Director Han also brought Director Tian to help?

"This patient is from my village. He couldn’t be treated in the local hospital and called me for help. When I saw his MRI, I knew the situation was serious. I promptly contacted my peers in the area and sent an ambulance to transfer him across provinces to our hospital. It was fortunate that we performed the emergency surgery, or he could’ve ended up permanently paralyzed and his whole family would have been ruined."

Tian Yuan, the director, was in charge of the trauma orthopedics group when Yang Ping first arrived. Later, when the Orthopedic Department was newly established in the Overseas Chinese Building, Director Han sent him to be the department head.

Coming from a poor background, he was ardent and never forgot his roots. Often, some villagers would seek his medical help, and he would take great care of them. He would go out of his way to conserve their expenses. For particularly hard cases, he would even cover some of their medical costs.

Afterward, they all settled down to their respective tasks.

Of course, Zhang Lin couldn’t resist sharing his experiences in Japan with the graduate students and standardized training students, spinning an intriguing tale. He attracted a host of followers.

Song Zimo let his junior doctors bring the medical record cart. He checked record after record and then went on a ward tour with Xu Zhiliang.

Now that Yang Ping was back, Director Han had to hand over his duties.

After the handover, Professor Zhang went back to rest.

Director Han and Yang Ping then led the team on ward rounds, handing over each patient’s care in detail at each bedside.

After the rounds, Director Han also looked tired and asked Yang Ping to persuade him to rest.

After checking through all the new and old patients in the department, Song Zimo noticed Sisi’s latest test results. His brow furrowed and he handed the report to Yang Ping, directing Li Guodong to bring up Sisi’s imaging results.

After Yang Ping read the information, he also frowned. The situation was very grim; the cancer cells have begun to regrow, visible in the image. The heart also showed star-like points.

Surgical methods, even those using high-intensity focused ultrasound, could only treat the symptoms. This was cancer, not any other disease.

Wildfires will burn again at the return of the spring wind.

This was the perfect description of malignant tumors.

A single uneradicated seed could grow back into a large mass given time.

Thus, the most feared aspect of malignant tumors was metastasis. Once it had metastasized, countless seeds became uncontrollable, potentially hiding anywhere in the body.

Several Gamma Knife treatments had temporarily stabilized Sisi’s condition, but it was only temporary.

"Will she need another round of Gamma Knife surgery? If so, I’ll contact Director Duan in advance."

Song Zimo was quite worried. The last check-up seemed fine, but this one showed significant changes.

Director Duan, Duan Xiaoming, was the head of Sanbo Hospital’s Gamma Knife Department. Nicknamed Duan Bald, he was also known as Brother Ming.

Bald was having a rather comfortable life now. After studying Gamma Knife with Yang Ping for a while, he had grasped some real skills and took his Gamma Knife competency to a new level.

Especially in the removal of uterine fibroids, he reached a new pinnacle, no longer causing skin burns or other miscellaneous complications.

The removal of uterine fibroids—no surgery, no bleeding, complete removal with fewer complications—quickly spread Duan Xiaoming’s reputation. He not only attracted a significant number of patients but was often invited by other hospitals to give lectures on Gamma Knife.

Now, Bald focused solely on using the Gamma Knife to remove uterine fibroids. With this unique skill, the department was revitalized, surprisingly thriving, to the point where he had requested additional staff from the Human Resources Office to expand his team more than once.

Within and outside the hospital, Duan Xiaoming was known as the specialist in removing uterine fibroids, which had become his calling card.

"Right now, there is no better method. We can only rely on the Gamma Knife to barely control the disease’s condition, but...this method won’t work for long. Contact Director Duan to give us a gap in his schedule. I’m going to check on Sisi now."

Yang Ping put down his work. He really wanted to help this adorable little girl, sparing no effort.

In his heart, Sisi had become the embodiment of all the helpless patients, on the edge or outside of medical protection, waiting for life to pass.

"Big brother!"

Sisi was playing with a plush toy, which was brought back from Japan by Tang Fei.

Her hair, unaffected by the damage of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, had become shinier and thicker.

"The news is not really good. I reviewed your scans, the cancer cells have reformed, and you can see dotted lesions in the films. There is currently no better solution, so we may have to proceed with another Gamma Knife surgery."

Furthermore, the smaller the lesion, the more difficult it is to precisely target it with the Gamma Knife.

Yang Ping felt that he should be straightforward with her, as she was more calm than most adults.

"Can you help me move this to the window?" Sisi picked up the cactus on her bedside table, its pot wiped clean.

Her face beamed with a radiant smile, devoid of the numbness and fatigue often seen on terminally ill patients. Her skin had the same lustrous and smooth qualities seen in children.

Yang Ping moved the cactus to the window, allowing it to receive as much sunlight as possible.

"Do you know why I love this? It’s because of its tenacity. Even in the desert, it survives."

"Hmm, it’s just like our Sisi, not afraid of difficulty."

After placing the potted plant where Sisi wanted, Yang Ping clapped his hands together.

Sisi pulled out a book from under her pillow and handed it to Yang Ping.

"I’ve finished the book you’ve given me."

That was the book Yang Ping gave her: "Opening a Heart."

A work by Stephen Wester, a top cardiac surgeon from the United Kingdom.

At the time, Yang Ping vaguely anticipated that her tumor would affect her heart, and this examination confirmed his prediction. Small spots were visible on her left atrium and ventricle.

"Actually, I’m lucky because the greatest fortune for a patient is to meet the best doctor." Sisi always remained optimistic.

Yang Ping casually flipped through the book, creating a rustling sound. The book was quite old, the result of buying it from an older student at a campus flea market during his university years for just one dollar.

The night he bought the book, Yang Ping read the entire thing in one sitting. It was from that moment on that he firmed his resolve to become a doctor.

In the book, every patient becomes a story - sometimes sorrowful and desperate, sometimes complicated and bizarre, and sometimes deeply moving.

Whether confident, depressed, or helpless, the chief surgeon always gives his all because there is no other choice.

"You’re feeling upset?" Sisi asked Yang Ping with a smile.

Yang Ping nodded: "A little."

Sisi chuckled as if it was nothing serious: "You forget what this book tells us---we need to tune out empathy! Why should we tune out empathy? My understanding is, empathy will cause doctors to lose their precious courage."

Yang Ping was amazed at her reading and comprehension ability.

"Alright, it seems that your mood is stable, and my worry is unnecessary. Shall we arrange for your next Gamma Knife surgery? This time the target area includes the heart!" Yang Ping treated her as a friend and had equal conversations with her even though she was a child.

"Are you going to open my heart?" Sisi asked with wide eyes.

Yang Ping shook his head: "No, it’s not that dramatic yet. Bombarding the heart with the Gamma Knife can be very risky."

"Sisi!"

Sisi’s mother’s voice echoed from the corridor outside. She worked in the ward as a caregiver, assisting nurses in arranging beds and taking patients for examination.

Sisi’s father was assigned to work as a driver for Boss Cheng by Yang Ping.

Money was always quietly deposited into Sisi’s medical expense account, so the couple was not under much economic pressure right now.

Sisi made a hushing gesture, and Yang Ping responded with a knowing smile.

"Dr. Yang, you are back. Did I interrupt your rounds?" Sisi’s mother appeared at the door and felt sorry to have disturbed Yang Ping and Sisi’s conversation.

Yang Ping raised the book in his hand and said: "It’s okay, I’m here to see her and chat with her about this book."

"Ah, and yes, Uncle Hermes called me a while ago. He’s doing well in Africa, but his skin has become much darker due to the sun. He said that you will definitely cure me, that I should not worry about anything, and he plans to send me a photo of himself with a huge piece of gold in the background," Sisi recalled the recent call from Hermes.

Hermes, who had been cured and discharged, went to Africa. His gold mine was shallow with good mineral output, high purity, and low extraction cost which made him very wealthy.

A while ago, Hermes contacted Yang Ping and offered to provide funding for his research if needed.

Hermes was quite a generous and straightforward man, which was why Yang Ping enjoyed his company.

"Mr. Wang called and wanted to adopt Sisi as his goddaughter," Sisi’s mother added.

Sisi shook her head: "Uncle Hermes is a good person, and very interesting, but I will not be anyone else’s daughter. I only want to be my mom and dad’s daughter."

Apparently, Hermes and Sisi had formed a bond during his hospital stay.

The Gamma Knife surgery that Sisi was about to undergo was a bit more challenging than previous ones. Previous surgeries mainly targeted the liver, with no obstructions from bones in the abdominal area.

However, this time, the Ultrasonic Knife would target the heart, specifically in the position of the left atrium and left ventricle. The angles were hard to determine, and with obstructions from the rib bones, spine, and scapula, the focused ultrasound would have difficulty taking effect.

Yang Ping needed to carefully plan for the operation.