Chapter 712: [(712)] Strength Lies Here Chapter 712: [(712)] Strength Lies Here Time was of the essence. She must not forget that she and Dr. Qiu had fought to squeeze out every second to protect this liver, and none of it should be wasted now.
“I understand,” Xie Wanying said.
Everyone, except for Tao Zhijie, listened to her affirmative voice in surprise: What did she understand?
“How will you cut?” Tao Zhijie asked her with a calm voice.
“One incision will suffice,” Xie Wanying was certain.
“If you cut off one-third, of course, one incision will suffice.” The onlooking crowd couldn’t help but interject, feeling as if she had no clue what she was about to do.
Associate Director Xue’s furrowed brows were almost ready to burst out a rebuke, had even Tao Zhijie started to act recklessly?
“Make a diagonal cut from here, completely preserving the right half of the liver, and the important major part of the left portal vein, the left hepatic vein branch, the left hepatic artery, and the main trunk of the left bile duct.”
The others, listening to her and looking at the liver, couldn’t figure out how it could be cut as she described.
“It seems impossible to make the cut she’s describing,” He Guangyou said, using her instructions to gesture over the liver, “To preserve what she mentioned, you’d end up cutting much less than one-third. We need to cut as much as possible without it being too large, otherwise, it won’t fit inside.”
“I think her method of cutting has some basis,” Song Xueling suddenly spoke up.
The others were surprised; was he actually supporting Xie Wanying?
“Each liver has individual variations. I have estimated this liver, and cutting off one-third might still preserve most of it,” the calculated spark in Song Xueling’s deep brown eyes seemed to be crunching numbers, “The only issue is how to make that one cut–”
As the others considered his words in light of individual variations, they realized that he and Xie Wanying might have a point. Now, the most crucial thing was to minimize liver damage, regardless of the method of cutting. Even if it meant discarding some parts, it was better than making several incisions and stitching it up afterward, which would cause too much harm to the liver. Besides, even Song Xueling had not envisioned the path of this single incision.
“If she says it can be done, it probably can,” Tao Zhijie spoke.
The operating room fell silent for a moment. Everyone found it hard to believe where his confidence came from that an intern could do it, especially a female intern. Typically, female interns have less manual dexterity than their male counterparts, so what seemed feasible in a female intern’s mind often proved impractical in execution.
“Dr. Tao, you–” Associate Director Xue once again cast a critical glance towards Tao Zhijie.
“Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll make the cut. I’ll cut it according to what she has described,” Tao Zhijie said.
In such a critical surgery, it was definitely impossible to let an intern perform the cuts on the only liver source. If botched, it would be akin to a medical malpractice, and the patient would likely die on the operating table.
Associate Director Xue’s lifted eyes met those of Tao Zhijie.
An old professor and a middle-aged doctor exchanged glances.
No one knew what kind of conversation these two generations had in those few seconds. In the end, they heard only Associate Director Xue’s contemplative “Hmm.”
It was as if he was passing the baton to Tao Zhijie.
Mentorship was too important, and the older generation of doctors had to choose and trust the next. If they had already made a positive assessment of the other’s ability, what was there to worry about?
In the operating room, everyone tensed up because of Associate Director Xue’s “Hmm,” their gazes all focusing on the surgical scalpel in Tao Zhijie’s hand.