Chapter 268: [268] Her tone was beyond calm. Chapter 268: [268] Her tone was beyond calm. “This tumor has not been detected; it’s a very smart cancer, which easily confuses doctors, making one’s initial impression that it’s benign. This kind of cancer occasionally occurs in young and middle-aged patients; it’s quite rare, but once discovered, it’s usually not good news because it might have already metastasized distantly. The young age of the patient fits this characteristic. Therefore, she might need to be psychologically prepared.”
From the junior sister’s tone, all I could hear was the professional demeanor of a doctor analyzing a patient’s condition—her composure was extraordinary!
This age group of medical students would become overly excited when called to the front by the Chief Surgeon. To stand firmly and display the calm and composed demeanor of a seasoned doctor is something I had never seen before. Gao Zhaocheng raised his eyebrows, a hint of significant surprise flashing in his eyes.
Beside him, Shen Jinghui, as the leader of the department, was also listening. Since he was here to observe the surgery, he casually signaled the anesthetist.
Following Shen Jinghui’s direction, the anesthetist immediately presented the patient’s medical records.
Taking the records, Shen Jinghui flipped to the page with the examination report and began to read.
The two others standing beside him leaned in close to look, and together they saw two pathology reports with different results.
The three bosses frowned.
“What did you say we could do with this part on that image?” Tan Kelin’s deep voice rose again.
“I’m thinking of cutting in from this angle, trying to preserve as much of her anal sphincter as possible, but the entire mesorectum needs to be cleanly removed along with the surrounding lymph nodes. With distant metastasis, we can only hope to preserve her quality of life, at least not to worry her with urination and defecation issues. Teacher Tan, what do you think of this angle? It’s up to you to decide,” Xie Wanying replied.
“Try to see if you can hold the laparoscopic tool steady later, guide Doctor Sun during the operation. Later, when Doctor Liu and I perform the surgery, you will use the laparoscope to provide lighting for the area.”
I knew the teacher wanted to confirm whether the diagram I drew was accurate.
“Yes, Teacher,” Xie Wanying nodded.
Apart from the few in the surgical team, everyone else was perplexed after listening to Tan Kelin’s instructions.
What does it mean? A newbie who’s only been in the clinical field for a few days is about to become a Mirror Assistant?
“What’s the deal with this person?” the trainees asked one another. “We’ve never seen her in Teacher Tan’s surgical team before, have we?”
The role of Mirror Assistant is critical—like the sun or a bulb. If the lighting is not good or accurate, the Chief Surgeon becomes blind in an instant, and you can forget about performing any operations in the pitch-dark space. Hence, learning to be a Mirror Assistant is very important before becoming the Laparoscopic Chief Surgeon.
What could this newbie possibly assist with as a Mirror Assistant? Everyone’s eyes simultaneously fell on Xie Wanying’s hands.
Xie Wanying stepped in front of Teacher Xiao Sun, who made space for her to try holding the instrument.
“Come, support the camera with your left hand, which is the shaft, and steady the fiber optic with your right hand.”
Teacher Xiao Sun began to teach her hands-on, placing his hand on the back of hers. In fact, he was still in control—it was just for her to get a feel of operating the laparoscope.
Seizing the opportunity to experience, Xie Wanying held her breath and concentrated fully.
Having watched Teacher Tan’s back and forth operations, she had analyzed them several times in her mind. It felt somewhat similar to the forceps she practiced with in the dormitory.
In the dormitory, she had bought some long iron tongs to practice long-distance object retrieval because she knew laparoscopy was the future of surgery, something she would inevitably have to master. So, it was very important to get an early start on practicing how to transmit strength.
After practicing for a few years, now that she had the laparoscope in hand, Teacher Xiao Sun intentionally relaxed his grip to let her feel the weight of the instrument. She had tied weights to her forceps to increase the weight and train her hand strength, so holding the laparoscope didn’t feel too heavy in her hands.