Chapter 166: Puncture
“Connect the puncture needle to the saline syringe, slip on the cut sterile glove fingertip. Do you know what this is for?”
The teacher asked, and Xie Wanying answered, “This half-piece of glove fingertip is used as a one-way valve. It allows the gas in the patient’s chest cavity to be easily expelled while preventing the outside air from entering the patient’s chest cavity.”
“Good,” Fu Xinheng said, “prepare to disinfect the skin.”
As soon as he said “disinfect the skin,” it was clear that a puncture was about to be performed.
Doctor Kim plopped down onto a chair, furrowing her brow as she looked at the robot Fu Xinheng, completely at a loss for what to say.
She was a neurologist, not a cardiothoracic expert. Now, in this situation, she had no ability to compete with Fu Xinheng for command. Besides, she was just unable to open her mouth to interrupt.
Turning her head, Doctor Kim looked at the expressions on Doctor Yang and Doctor Lin.
Doctor Yang was stroking his eyebrow; he didn’t have the qualifications to contest Fu Xinheng for command either. One was third-tier, and the other second-tier.
Doctor Lin’s hands were pocketed in his white coat, opting for silence is gold.
Perhaps she should make a call to Huang Zhilei, thought Doctor Kim, struck by sudden inspiration as she turned to reach for the phone in her pocket. But Fu Xinheng’s eyes boring into her from behind made her too afraid to move. All she could do internally was curse: How sharp-eyed this robot is!
“Tell me the puncture site,” Fu Xinheng demanded.
“The patient has a right-sided pneumothorax; the puncture site is located in the second intercostal space along the midclavicular line on the right side. The midclavicular line on the right side is the midpoint between the right mid-axillary line and the sternum midline. The needle can be inserted upon palpating the upper edge of the third rib.”
“If you encounter resistance, it means you have reached the pleural cavity, and you can start to aspirate. After advancing the needle another 0.5 centimeters, withdraw the stylet,” Fu Xinheng instructed.
As Xie Wanying spoke, Zhao Zhaowei’s hand, which was helping her hold the phone, trembled from time to time. He seemed to understand what she was saying, but the problem was, they learned anatomy using cadavers, not living people. Frankly, he was scared and didn’t know where she got the courage to do this. If something went wrong and the patient died, would she still be able to be a doctor?
Two traffic police stood outside the car, not daring to even breathe out loud.
“The patient is thin; it’s easy to feel the angle of the ribs. That’s the second rib; below is the third rib,” Xie Wanying said as her left hand confirmed the location and disinfected the skin; her right hand held up the puncture needle and asked for permission, “Teacher, if you agree, I will now perform the puncture on the patient.”
The patient was not very conscious anymore, no need for anesthetic now.
Zhao Zhaowei closed his eyes, too scared to look.
Seeing Zhao Zhaowei’s expression, both traffic policemen turned their gaze elsewhere, as if expecting the next scene to be horrifying.
In the hospital, Doctor Kim stood up again, “Or maybe—”
Fu Xinheng told Doctor Kim, “Shut your mouth, or get out.”
Doctor Kim sat back down on the chair once more, rubbing her hands vigorously on her face, as she glared at Doctor Yang and Doctor Lin: What do you think?
Doctor Yang and Doctor Lin remained silent.
“Insert the needle perpendicular at ninety degrees,” Fu Xinheng issued the permission.
The puncture needle was inserted perpendicularly into the patient’s skin, and in just one to a few seconds, which to the people present, felt as long as millennia.
Doctor Kim felt her heartbeat racing as if she were about to faint, her eyes wide open staring at the white ceiling, wondering why there was no echo.
After all, they were on the highway; the surrounding noise was too distracting, and the phone kept transmitting static, making it hard to hear clearly.
Doctor Kim jumped up, shouting, “Zhao Zhaowei!”
Hearing the teacher’s voice, Zhao Zhaowei opened his eyes.