Chapter 51: A New Milestone in Replantation

Don’t rush; take your time.

Dr. Xu noticed the situation and offered him encouraging words from the sidelines.

The patient was under local anesthesia—alert and unable to speak freely.

If the patient were under general anesthesia, the operating room would have only medical personnel, and Dr. Xu would have given Zhou Can detailed instructions.

For now, only gentle encouragement was possible.

If Zhou Can couldn’t manage any better, he would have to decisively call for a halt and take over himself.

Zhou Can took a deep breath, trying to steady his inner calm.

Maintaining a serene mindset was the key to a successful surgery.

He carefully reviewed the issues during the earlier anastomosis, made improvements, and reanastomosed.

Ten minutes later, he finally succeeded in reconnecting the first blood vessel.

And it was the most critical artery.

The venous vessels had not yet been connected, so testing for blood flow was not possible at that moment.

Zhou Can couldn’t help but feel a touch of self-doubt.

“Very good, keep going,” came the calm voice.

Dr. Xu stood by, meticulously overseeing every detail.

Buoyed by his mentor’s affirmation, Zhou Can’s confidence soared as he continued with the venous anastomosis.

Typically, replanting a severed finger involves first debriding the wound, then repairing the bone, followed by sequentially reconnecting the tendons, blood vessels, nerves, and finally suturing the skin.

Ensuring proper blood flow is critical to the survival of the replanted digit.

Nerve repair is of secondary importance.

Its role, however, is to determine how much function can eventually be restored.

After one venous connection succeeded, the second followed in eight minutes, as his confidence grew and his technique became increasingly precise—reducing the time from twelve to eight minutes per vessel.

That was a full one-third reduction in time.

“Excellent, keep it up,” he heard again.

Dr. Xu’s face shone with approval.

Next, Zhou Can moved on to nerve anastomosis—a challenge far beyond that of vascular repairs.

Yet opportunities like this were simply too enticing.

Like waging a battle, he charged forward, ready to conquer the final ‘fortress.’

Having a powerful mentor backing him gave him the nerve to try boldly.

Astonishingly, the nerve repair was completed in under six minutes.

The entire procedure proceeded with unexpected smoothness.

【Suturing Experience +1 Ligature Experience +1 Anastomosis Experience +1】

Experience points piled up as reliably as a monthly paycheck.

Anastomosis is an advanced medical technique, and as a resident, such opportunities were hard-won.

The main reason was the rarity of these challenging cases.

For riskier procedures, Dr. Xu would never entrust them to him.

Opportunities to earn four points in anastomosis experience were indeed few and far between.

After perfectly aligning the nerve and blood vessels and confirming everything,

the next—and most crucial—step was the blood flow test.

Success or failure depended solely on this moment.

When the elastic band around the wrist was released, blood surged immediately through the vessels into the entire hand, and the other four, untouched fingers quickly regained a healthy red glow.

The once pale severed finger gradually flushed with life.

“Success!”

Zhou Can was ecstatic.

A burden had finally been lifted from his heart.

This was his first replantation surgery—a procedure of immense significance.

It was worlds apart from reconnecting a white mouse’s tail.

【Nerve Anastomosis Successful, Matching Rate Over 50%, Bonus Anastomosis Experience +10】

Hey, he hadn’t expected an extra reward.

It was a delightful, unexpected bonus.

A perfect nerve match is nearly unachievable; even Wu Baihe with the famed Peak Scalpel wouldn’t have that capability.

Typically, a 30% match rate after nerve repair was enough to regain partial function.

For a newbie like Zhou Can to hit a 50% match on his first human nerve repair was nothing short of extraordinary.

Most chief physicians would barely reach such heights.

Normally, a resident achieving a 30% match was considered excellent, while senior attendings might hit over 40%.

This wasn’t to imply that Zhou Can had reached chief-level skill—it was more like a rare stroke of luck, akin to a clumsy cat catching a mouse.

Yet, his innate talent for nerve repair was evident.

During his residency, he had once managed to repair a mouse’s tail nerve, restoring pain sensation—a clear sign of his remarkable gift.

With the reattached finger’s nerve match at 50%, it was clear most of its function could be recovered.

Seeing the success, Dr. Xu allowed a rare smile to cross his face.

But the happiest one was still the patient.

Earlier, when Zhou Can was assigned his procedure, the patient had been reluctant—questioning the skill of such a young doctor—and had been nervously on edge throughout.

Thankfully, the outcome was excellent.

“Hurry up with the suturing!”

Dr. Xu commanded the start of the skin suturing.

“Yes,” Zhou Can replied.

Feeling even more confident, Zhou Can pressed on.

Suturing skin wasn’t particularly challenging.

Having performed nearly twenty skin suturing procedures, his mindset and skills were both refined.

He felt far more relaxed now than during the nerve and vessel reconnections.

He sutured quickly and calmly, with the unmistakable air of a true expert.

“All done. Please, mentor, inspect my work,” he called out.

Dr. Xu examined the results and nodded in approval.

“Excellent finish! Once the wound is bandaged, the patient can head off for infusion therapy.”

The patient was soon taken away.

On leaving, the patient made sure to thank both Dr. Xu and Zhou Can.

Dr. Lu, sporting a sour expression, grumbled, “I contributed significantly to this surgery, yet not a single word of thanks came my way. That patient is downright ungrateful.”

No one picked up on his complaint.

After all, the patient wasn’t foolish—Dr. Lu’s habitual laziness as an assistant meant that any critique was actually a compliment.

He even seemed to expect special thanks, as if he considered himself some kind of demigod.

Seeing no one responding, Dr. Lu shifted his gaze toward Dr. Xu.

“Dr. Xu, look—if Zhou Can, just a resident, can be trusted with crucial tasks like vascular and nerve repairs, why not give me some hands-on training too?”

This comment came as Dr. Lu, feeling overshadowed by the newcomer, wrestled with his own insecurities.

Apart from parents, no one wishes to see someone better off than they are.

That truly was a nugget of wisdom!

“Hmpf. Remember last time when you nearly ruined a patient’s vessel? I assigned you a low-risk limb vein, and not only did you botch the connection, but you also caused a blood clot—almost sparking a major incident. If you really want to improve, practice on a white mouse’s tail vessel when you get home. Master it, and I’ll consider giving you another chance.”

Dr. Xu was utterly exasperated at Dr. Lu’s complaints.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to support him—the resident was just too unreliable.

Dr. Lu forced a laugh awkwardly and fell silent.

“Tang Ling, go check how many patients are still waiting out there,” Dr. Xu instructed.

At over 50 years old and after so many hours in the OR, Dr. Xu was clearly running low on energy.

He took a brief break on a small stool by the wall during a lull.

“Thanks to our efforts, there are only two patients left outside!”

Tang Ling reported cheerfully after her check.

“Bring in one patient first,” Dr. Xu ordered, his voice heavy with fatigue.

Despite his weariness, he remained determined.

He gritted his teeth, intent on finishing all the cases before taking a break for a meal.

Zhou Can deeply admired his mentor’s strong commitment to his patients.

Doctors who truly cared for their patients were the best kind of doctors.

Soon, a man writhing in pain was pushed into the operating room.

After evaluation, it turned out that this man had been perilously close to the stage and had unfortunately been struck in the groin. The examining doctor suspected that his testicle might have been displaced or injured, so he was sent to the OR for treatment.

No wonder his cries were so haunting.