Chapter 844: [844] All eyes are on her Chapter 844: [844] All eyes are on her “The chief surgeon asks for a first assistant, but if the first assistant always contradicts the chief, how can the surgery proceed? The first assistant must be like a roundworm in the chief’s stomach, understanding any thoughts the chief might have, whether it’s a new or an experienced surgeon.
If we go by this rule, among all the doctors present, perhaps only Xie Wanying truly understands Song Xueling’s surgical thought process.
Besides unity in thought, in terms of technical coordination, these two had tried to work together during Student Zhao’s operation last time. Xie Wanying could always readily grasp the trends in Song Xueling’s techniques, responding in kind. By contrast, He Jiuliang and the others took forever to catch up with the two newcomers’ operational mindset, let alone coordinate well.
Realizing his own limitations in syncing his surgical thinking and techniques with the newcomers, He Jiuliang suggested, “Teacher Tao can help you.”
But would the surgery still truly be his to lead if Tao Zhijie became the first assistant? Certainly not. A senior doing the first assistant’s job amounts to giving directions. Song Xueling’s response was naturally restrained.
At this point, He Jiuliang, finally catching on, realized what these people were intending. Like Qiu Ruiyun said, this younger brother from Beidu was ambitious, reluctant to remain someone’s junior forever; he wanted to train his own.
From the beginning, Tao Zhijie had let this person plan the surgery, effectively giving him a shot at trying. At this stage, for himself to take control would be pointless unless it came to a dangerous moment in the surgery that the newcomer couldn’t handle and needed his cleanup.
Having gauged the thoughts of his superiors and subordinates, He Jiuliang could only, like everyone else, turn his attention to Xie Wanying.
Xie Wanying was taken aback, not having expected such great expectations from her seniors.
To live up to the trust of her superiors, Xie Wanying candidly shared, “I’ve done my homework. I reviewed the hospital’s educational videos the other day and memorized the surgical steps. For a spleen-preserving operation, the Kimura technique is best. If not feasible, the Warshaw method must be used with caution, with a prior examination to check if the spleen is enlarged. I’ll only know if it can be preserved by actually doing the surgery.”
Listening to her cautious statement, it was clear the surgery would be quite challenging for her as a rookie. He Jiuliang’s concern deepened, and he consulted Tao Zhijie once more.
“Do it,” Tao Zhijie declared, allowing the two newcomers to proceed, him being there just in case.
He Jiuliang took up the role of mirror assistant. Chief Surgeon Song Xueling picked up the ultrasonic scalpel. It was only then, no longer observing from the side but actually feeling the state of the patient through the instrument, that He Jiuliang was surprised.
“This is…?” he remarked, finding the movement of the laparoscope he held within the patient’s abdominal cavity somewhat difficult, as if shrouded by webs, the space for instrument maneuver was notably restricted. It goes to show that human bodies are not just visibly different in facial features, but their internal organs and tissues also have their subtle variations.
In other words, the difficulty that Xie Wanying had just spoken of likely wasn’t based on her being inexperienced or incapable, as even he, merely acting as the mirror assistant, could feel the difficulty in movement. Precisely so, the first real challenge for a laparoscopic first assistant was movement.
A reliable laparoscopic first assistant doesn’t move unnecessarily – they move as little as possible, only making precise movements. Such strict control while trying to expose the largest possible surgical field is technically very demanding.”