On Monday at 8 o’clock in the morning, the unveiling ceremony of the "Surgical Research Institute" commenced punctually.
As the bronze plaque was to be hung at the top of the first floor entrance, which was quite high, a wooden step was specially constructed for the unveiling.
Amid hearty applause, Dean Xia and Director Han, walked towards the step on either side of Yang Ping, pulled down the red silk cloth and subsequently gave brief speeches.
At this moment, it was the shift change time, so there weren’t many bystanders. Only a few people, including Professor Liang, Professor Qin, Professor Su, Professor Hu, and Professor Li Zehui, along with the leaders of several departments in the hospital, stood below the stage.
The entire process took just over ten minutes. After the simple unveiling ceremony, it was time for the shift change in the wards of the Surgical Research Institute, and then came the surgery by Zheng Baosheng.
Everything was conducted without any frivolities.
The purpose of a heavy-duty vessel is to serve its function in battles; any decoration is superfluous.
The surgery was not only eagerly anticipated by a few professors but also by some surgeons from the Orthopaedics and Cardiac Surgery Department who came over to watch and learn.
Due to sterility protocols, the number of people allowed inside the operating room was limited, so everyone else observed the procedure via video, a method which was both clear and did not violate sterility rules.
Professor Su and Professor Zou from Xiehe Hospital, Professor Qin from 301 Hospital and Professor Liang from Nandu University arrived early and took seats in the first row of the operating room’s teaching room, followed by a large group of doctors.
When Nurse Qin of 301 heard about this complex surgery, she applied to Professor Qin, hoping to come over to watch and learn. Professor Qin had no choice but to agree to her request, and now she too was sitting among the crowd.
This surgery presented a valuable learning opportunity for everyone, regardless of its success or failure.
Naturally, Professor Su wouldn’t miss these important moments, and at critical times, he would support Yang Ping, as young people sometimes lack the strong backing of their senior colleagues.
As everyone was a big shot within the industry, it was impossible for them not to exchange a few pleasantries upon meeting.
Professor Liang and Professor Qin have always found it difficult to comprehend Professor Su’s actions. Although he is known for his talent, when it came to recruiting Yang Ping, 301 and Xiehe Hospital clashed fiercely, yet Professor Su remained incredibly calm, refraining from getting involved.
Professor Su had his own plans. He was attempting to facilitate a significant event—bringing Sanbo Hospital under the direct affiliation of Nandu Medical University.
Once accomplished, the overall strength of Sanbo Hospital would greatly improve. At present in China, for a hospital to achieve significant growth, it must rely on a robust university, as operating independently presents significantly greater challenges.
Everything was being strategically planned. Professor Su’s style was to press ahead patiently and strategically, revealing nothing prematurely, letting all plans fall into place naturally.
The surgery performed on Zheng Baosheng begun in the prone position to loosen and align the viscera and large blood vessels in order to restore them to their normal positions and paths, to adapt to the posture after orthopedics. Otherwise, the tension would tear the heart and blood vessels.
Then, the necessary spinal curvature correction is performed while the patient is still in a prone position. The procedure is complex and daunting to even think about. If necessary, extracorporeal circulation is used to bridge and lengthen blood vessels to accommodate the new thoracic anatomy.
Currently, it’s evident that the operating room lacks enough staff to support the future development of the department. Previously, the Synthesis Orthopedics department followed a lightweight route, so the operating room had only one anesthesiologist and two nurses, borrowing staff from the main hospital operating room for temporary needs.
In future, the Surgical Research Institute will certainly follow the heavyweight route, and the current team will be completely unable to meet its needs.
Yang Ping submitted a staffing request to the hospital, requiring one additional anesthesiologist and two more nurses.
Upon hearing the news, doctors and nurses from Sanbo Hospital scrambled to join the Surgical Research Institute.
But joining the Surgical Research Institute wasn’t that easy.
Anesthetic doctors must have a doctoral degree, with full-time doctoral credentials; part-time or equivalent doctoral studies will not be accepted. Nurses must have a bachelor’s degree and it must again be full-time, obtained through a college entrance examination, not through self-study or an adult education degree.
Although bachelor-degree nurses make up a considerable number in coastal large-scale hospitals, they still represent a minority compared to specialized nurses. Currently, the majority of nurses are still trained specialists.
With the number of applicants far exceeding the requirements, a high bar was necessary, and there was no way around that.
Professor Li served as Yang Ping’s surgical assistant, intending to witness the entire surgery firsthand. Even if it resulted in failure, there would be lessons to learn from. Medical science is always about advancing forwards, and progress requires sacrifice.
When Cardiac Surgery first gained prominence, many doctors from various countries went to the United States to further their studies, and upon their return, they hurriedly launched their own cardiac surgeries. Most of them were skilled general surgeons who had never performed surgery on the heart and whose only training had been to watch and practice on models or animals.
In other words, these trained doctors had never performed surgery on a human body before. Upon their return to their respective countries, they had to independently launch cardiac surgeries. To evolve from nothing to something and from weakness to strength required sacrifice, and hence, few of their early surgical patients survived.
It’s a cruel fact—due to the unique nature of medicine, without opportunities to actually operate, growth is never possible. If growth is stunted, becoming a skilled doctor is impossible, forging a vicious cycle.
If it’s about a mature and popular specialty, the teachers in the department can guide the students by hand over a few years. But when it comes to emerging disciplines, during those years, there were only several surgeons throughout the world who could perform cardiac surgeries, and there was no one to provide hands-on guidance over several years.