Chapter 685: [685] Designated by a senior Chapter 685: [685] Designated by a senior The liver source for patient in bed 18 has become clear, and the surgery will happen within the next two days.
General Surgery Department Two doesn’t perform organ transplant surgeries because intestinal transplants are very rarely carried out in China. The department is driven by economic efficiency. If there are few patients, they definitely won’t undertake a business that can’t break even. There are requirements to conduct organ transplant surgeries; at the very least, like the Hepatobiliary Surgery Department, there needs to be the establishment of dedicated isolation wards within the department and the training of specialized technicians. If there aren’t many such patients, it is essentially a waste of hospital beds.
Liver transplantation is different; there is a market need for it, and it has always been one of the top two types of organ transplantation.
There are reports that the hospital’s leadership is considering the establishment of an organ transplant center, which would handle all departmental organ transplants. However, the current state of organ transplantation in China has its limitations, with many regulations not yet fully developed, and a scarcity of donor organs preventing surgeries from being performed. For example, there are only a little over two hundred liver transplants carried out nationwide in a year. Guoxie might manage twenty to thirty at most within a year.
One could say that just having arrived and encountering a case of liver transplantation, Xie Wanying knew that this was incredibly lucky for any medical student wanting to learn.
Clearly, the laparoscopic surgery techniques that General Surgery Department Two highly values are not the focus of Hepatobiliary Surgery’s future development.
Laparoscopy can only be used for a limited number of liver operations. Many of the liver disease patients who seek treatment at top-tier hospitals are severely ill and cannot undergo laparoscopic surgery; they can only undergo open surgery and be treated with an artificial liver for liver failure. Ultimately, the only way to save these patients’ lives is through liver transplantation.
It is said that the chance for interns and trainees to learn about liver transplantation in the Hepatobiliary Surgery Department is almost nonexistent, with most of the work being done by visiting doctors. These visiting doctors are mostly official doctors from other hospitals, which once again shows the high threshold for coming here to learn about organ transplantation.
There are specialized organ transplant teams for performing organ transplants. In the case of Guoxie Hepatobiliary Surgery, internally there is a division of a team dedicated to organ transplantation. Given the very limited number of cases each year, the team is not large and is still in its early stages. Specifically, it is led by Associate Director Xue, a chief physician within the department, and the main team members belong to the second medical team led by Tao Zhijie.
Besides the technical ability of the surgical doctors, the key point of liver transplant surgery is the ability to obtain a liver source.
Liver sources have always been in short supply in China. The liver source could actually be a living liver, with family members donating a part of their liver for the patient. If family members don’t , one can only wait for organ donors who can after brain death. For the latter, one has to join a long queue. This further shows just how scarce liver sources are, being as valuable as gold and diamonds.
“On the way to retrieve the liver source, your safety must come first,” Tao Zhijie would always remind the doctors in his team, “Don’t rush. If you get into a car accident, not only is the liver source gone, but the patient’s life as well. Worst of all, your own lives are even more crucial to me and to the hospital.”
“Yes,” Qiu Ruiyun replied.
It was clear the doctor set to retrieve the liver source had already been determined, and it was him.
“Pick a newcomer to go with you,” Tao Zhijie gave him the choice.
“Can’t both newcomers go with me?” Qiu Ruiyun seized the opportunity to joke.
“Of course not,” Tao Zhijie laughed in response.
“Let’s go with Xie Wanying.”
Dr. Qiu had called out her name. Xie Wanying immediately put down her chopsticks and replied, “Yes.”
“Keep eating, keep eating,” the others noticed that she had been very focused on eating her meal.
Xie Wanying chewed slowly and thoroughly, and due to her concentration on eating, her pace was actually not slow.
“Xiao Song will enter the operating room when the time comes,” Tao Zhijie continued to arrange for newcomers to take the stage.
Song Xueling nodded his head.