Chapter 138: 【138】She is not reckless
Surgeons have always had it tough.
Xie Wanying and the child put dozens of folded paper cranes into a plastic bag.
The door to the operating room opened, and out came Father Liu, pushed by Yue Wentong who had gone in to observe the surgery, as well as the anesthesiologist and a nursing aide. The chief surgeon didn’t come out, probably because they knew the patient’s family member was a seven-year-old child who wouldn’t understand, so explaining the situation was unnecessary. They had likely gone off to rest for a while.
“Daddy,” Zhenzhen, approaching the bedside, took hold of her father’s hand as he lay there.
The anesthesia had not worn off yet, and Father Liu was groggy. It seemed like he heard his daughter’s voice, but at the same time, he didn’t, while he struggled to move his eyelids.
A line of people pushed Father Liu’s gurney to the large elevator door to wait for the elevator, ready to head to the ICU.
Unable to see the chief surgeon, Xie Wanying quietly asked the shift leader, “How did the surgery go?”
Yue Wentong answered her, “It was quite serious.”
Although he didn’t quite understand, surgeons would often say something during the procedure, vaguely divulging some specific details about the patient’s condition.
“The blockage was very severe, and the blood vessels were malformed, making interventional surgery impossible,” Yue Wentong said. “Fortunately, we didn’t go for interventional. If we had been slower, it might have been too late.”
There are similarities and differences between cardiac bypass surgery performed by cardiovascular surgeons and interventional surgery done by cardiologists. Both can treat myocardial infarction, which occurs when the major blood vessels on the surface of the heart that supply blood to the heart muscle become blocked. When blood flow stops, the heart muscle is deprived of oxygen and dies, leading to cardiac arrest and death.
In such cases, a bypass operation creates one or more new pathways for blood flow when a vessel is blocked to maintain the blood supply to the heart.
Interventional surgery involves placing a stent in the not completely blocked vessels, isolating it from the external blockage, to allow blood to flow through the stent.
When compared, there is a clear difference: bypass surgery requires opening the chest and direct visualization of the heart by the surgeon, hence it’s the job of the cardiovascular surgeon.
On the other hand, interventional surgery involves placing a stent inside the blood vessel, somewhat similar to inserting a needle into a vein without the need for opening the chest, which obviously is within the capability of a cardiologist.
Open chest surgery is more invasive, and many patients are reluctant to go through it. However, if the blood vessel is completely blocked, intervention is difficult because placement of a stent is not feasible. Furthermore, if the vessel is not completely blocked but malformed, as was discovered after opening Father Liu’s chest, then intervention is certainly not an option. The underlying problem wouldn’t be addressed, leading to a recurrence, hence surgery by a cardiovascular surgeon is necessary to correct it.
“Doctor Yang said that bringing him in for surgery was the right decision,” Yue Wentong summarized what the surgeon had said, asking Xie Wanying, “How did you figure that out?”
It was she who had consistently recommended that the patient undergo bypass surgery, and it seemed her judgment was more accurate than that of several clinical physicians.
Xie Wanying certainly couldn’t admit that she was reborn and had a special ability. Mulling over how to fob off the shift leader, and seeing the elevator arrive, she quickly said, “We can push him in now.”
Feeling she was unwilling to speak as if she was hiding something, Yue Wentong frowned and teased her, “You’re really bold.”
Xie Wanying understood what the shift leader meant and explained her motive for speaking out, “It depends on who you’re talking to. Guoxie is the number one ranked hospital in the country. The teachers here are highly responsible. They know that the patients who come here are at the end of their rope. Doctors at Guoxie are the last line of defense protecting life. Because it is Guoxie, I dare to speak. The teachers are much more skilled than I am, and they can completely judge whether I am right or wrong.”