The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 793 Has your mouth become brilliant?

"Teacher Liu, the Murphy's sign is negative. We'll send him for an ultrasound first," Xu Yino said after drawing blood and examining Old Zhou.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Then, let's get a CT scan directly. For negative findings, we'll do a comprehensive examination; for positive ones, a targeted examination. And keep an eye on his blood pressure."

Xu Yino nodded and, leading the large group, headed directly to the ultrasound room.

"Have you contacted his family?" Liu Banxia looked at Liu Haibing.

Liu Haibing shook his head awkwardly. "I worked up the courage several times but didn't dare to call his wife. They fight a lot because of his drinking. Otherwise, he wouldn't always come to us."

"Sigh... I can understand his difficulties, but I still think we should contact the family. No matter the situation, pain this severe is definitely not a minor issue like enteritis," Liu Banxia said.

"If there really is a problem, we'll need the family's authorization too. Anyway, you all should be more careful in the future. It's best to stop at the right point. Once the initial craving is satisfied, he won't drink to excess."

Liu Haibing nodded hastily.

This was the second time Liu Banxia had said this; he would remember this kindness. If it weren't for their good relationship, Liu Banxia would have just mentioned it once and been done with it.

"Banxia, do you think his condition could be very serious?" Liu Haibing asked.

"It's still hard to say. There are too many potential factors, and the diagnosis must correspond with the results of the blood tests and imaging," Liu Banxia said.

"We've just done a preliminary examination, which can only serve for simple exclusions. Although there doesn't seem to be any change on the EKG, we can't rule out the possibility of a myocardial infarction."

"Let's wait together. In the meantime, call his family again. Would you like some tea? The tea I have here is quite good; Qiaoqiao prepared it for me."

"Okay, I'll have some to sober up. What just happened really scared us," Liu Haibing said.

Liu Banxia smiled, nodded, and went to make tea for them.

He was, after all, his friend who had come to him for help; some personal attention was warranted.

"Teacher Liu, by just touching the patient's wrist and the dorsum of his foot, can you measure his blood pressure?" Li Tianyang asked curiously, sidling over.

"Of course, it's impossible to measure it accurately that way, but you can feel the strength of the blood flow. If it really is an aortic dissection, the difference in pulse strength would be quite significant, and you'd be able to feel it," Liu Banxia said.

"You have a good grasp of basic knowledge. Can you independently perform basic surgeries like appendectomies, cholecystectomies, and inguinal hernia repairs?"

Li Tianyang shook his head modestly. "I can only perform appendectomies using conventional incisions; my laparoscopic skills are much weaker."

"That's alright. I'll talk to Xu Yino later. If there are any small-incision appendectomies, I'll have them let you assist on a couple first," Liu Banxia said.

"Chief Director Xu said this is set to become a signature procedure for your Jinshui District Hospital. Study it diligently. Once you master it, you'll be able to establish yourself in the emergency department of Jinshui District Hospital."

"I'm not just bragging. When I went there back in the day, this was the skill I relied on to make a name for myself. But you can't be content with just learning this; you also need to diligently learn related surgical skills."

"Your foundational knowledge is quite good, so you need to work even harder. After this year of study, you can go back and be the backbone of the Jinshui District Hospital's emergency department."

"Chief Director Xu is very ambitious; he certainly doesn't want it to remain just a referral hospital. They've sent quite a few people to our Second Affiliated Hospital for internships these past two years. Just take your time and accumulate experience."

"Thank you, Teacher Liu. I will study hard," Li Tianyang said respectfully.

"Relax, we're just chatting. In our emergency center, you don't need to worry about a lack of surgical opportunities. Even if we rotate them per doctor, there are plenty," Liu Banxia said.

"However, our requirements for surgical procedures are very strict. We try to minimize the number of incisions as much as possible. Achieving the best anatomical exposure with the fewest cuts—that's our goal."

Li Tianyang nodded quickly; Xu Chengjun had mentioned this to him before.

"Alright, you should get back to your work. Once this patient's condition is diagnosed, you all can go rest. Starting tomorrow, you'll have to get on track, and things will get busy," Liu Banxia continued.

"Teacher Liu, please continue with your work," Li Tianyang said and slipped away to the side.

He saw a middle-aged woman enter through the emergency center's entrance. The patient's friend, Liu Haibing, also went up to greet her. She was probably the patient's wife.

Liu Banxia didn't rush over, preferring to let them have an initial conversation. If he went over directly, it might escalate any existing tension between them.

Judging by Liu Haibing's guilty expression earlier, this woman must have warned them sternly before, but they hadn't taken it to heart.

"Are you Old Zhou's wife?" Liu Banxia greeted them as they approached. "He's currently undergoing a CT scan. The ultrasound results show no apparent issues in the abdominal cavity. The blood test results are also back, ruling out a myocardial infarction."

Hearing his words, the group visibly relaxed.

"Dr. Liu, is it Old Zhou's stomach? We try to stop him from drinking, but he just won't listen. And Haibing and the others, they just enable him," the patient's wife said.

"We still need to see the CT scan results. If the CT scan also shows no issues, then we'll need to proceed with a gastroscopy next," Liu Banxia said.

"Sigh... he just won't listen," the patient's wife lamented.

"Let's wait a bit. We don't need to wait for the films; as soon as their scan is done, we can view it directly here," Liu Banxia comforted her.

Actually, he was quite confident deep down. As long as it wasn't a myocardial infarction or an aortic dissection, it likely wasn't a major problem, and they would have time to manage it.

Like the young woman he had treated earlier that day; she had been in truly grave danger. If an abdominal aortic aneurysm ruptured, the blood loss would be massive, and resuscitation would be incredibly difficult.

Because an aortic dissection can lead to an aortic aneurysm, and it's impossible to predict when it might rupture. And this is most likely to occur in patients with hypertension and atherosclerosis.

"Don't worry, Sister-in-law, Dr. Liu is highly skilled. Let's take this opportunity to give Old Zhou a thorough check-up," Liu Haibing reassured her.

"He can't keep drinking like this anymore. And you all shouldn't either. What's so good about drinking? You spend money and make yourselves suffer. Wouldn't it be better to buy something else?" the patient's wife said.

"Don't worry, Sister-in-law, we'll all watch over Old Zhou in the future," one of them quickly added from the side.

"You think I'd believe you? How many times have you said that?" the patient's wife said helplessly.

Liu Banxia found the exchange rather amusing, but it also showed that their relationships were genuinely quite good.

Just then, Liu Banxia's phone buzzed. It was a message from Xu Yino: CT negative.

Liu Banxia frowned. Something isn't right. Could it really be pain from a gastric ulcer?

He walked over to a nearby computer, pulled up Old Zhou's CT films, and examined them carefully.

Indeed, looking solely at the CT films, there really weren't any problems.

"Banxia, how is it?" Liu Haibing asked.

"The current examination results haven't revealed any problems. I'll ask him more when he gets back," Liu Banxia said.

"If we rule out issues with the gallbladder, pancreas, intestinal perforation, gastric perforation, and appendix, then it's very likely pain from a gastric ulcer. I'll do another simple physical exam when he returns. If not, then we'll proceed with a gastroscopy."

"Okay, whatever you say. If you need to order it, I can go pay for it now," Liu Haibing said.

"It's alright, we can order it then. Let's see his condition first," Liu Banxia replied.

After a little more waiting, Xu Yino and the others wheeled Old Zhou back.

Upon seeing his wife, Old Zhou, though still in a lot of pain, looked a bit sheepish. Fortunately, his wife didn't lecture him on the spot, instead leaving time for Liu Banxia's diagnosis.

"Are there any other symptoms or discomforts? Have you had frequent stomach pains in the past?" Liu Banxia asked.

"I have, before, but it got better after taking some stomach medicine. That was two years ago. Doctor Xu just said my CT scan was negative. Does that mean I'm alright?" Old Zhou asked.

Liu Banxia nodded. "At least for now, your abdominal organs appear to be fine. The pain is likely due to a gastric ulcer."

"If it really is a gastric ulcer, you'll have to take good care of your stomach from now on. The pain itself is secondary. The main concern is that it could lead to gastric perforation. Just think about it: if those digestive fluids and whatnot from your stomach leak into your abdominal cavity, wouldn't that affect the other organs?"

Old Zhou grimaced; the thought was indeed terrifying.

"However, if it's a gastric ulcer, your pain seems excessively severe," Liu Banxia added.

"Don't feel you need to hide anything just because your wife is here. Have you really never had this kind of pain before? Your wife has forgiven you this time; just don't make the same mistake again."

Old Zhou shook his head awkwardly. "No, never... Um... Dr. Liu, my lower back seems to be hurting now."

Liu Banxia frowned, quickly took out his stethoscope, and began listening to Old Zhou's heart sounds.

"Let's get another set of EKG readings," Liu Banxia said after listening.

The staff nearby quickly began the procedure.

Looking at the EKG printout, Liu Banxia's frown deepened.

I thought the patient was having a myocardial infarction, but the EKG is completely normal. Even without other tests, that could be ruled out.

"No—get a contrast-enhanced CT of the aorta!" Liu Banxia shouted after a moment of silence.

The people nearby were startled. Xu Yino reacted the fastest. Without even waiting for Liu Banxia to write the order, he pushed the patient directly towards the CT room.

The interns hesitated for a moment, then also followed towards the CT room.

Liu Banxia gave a wry smile. Damn, I might have actually jinxed it. Is this mouth of mine blessed or cursed?