Chapter 571: Unique Sensory Feedback and Major Hospital Reforms

The preliminary interviews were already wrapped up.

Though there hadn’t been any large-scale promotions yet, the hospital had started testing the waters through some self-media platforms and small newspapers. Major hospitals like this one tended to be cautious with their publicity efforts.

Tuyu Hospital had always placed a strong emphasis on promotional work over the years.

They’d also built up a wealth of experience in this area.

When showcasing typical cases or significant achievements, they rarely went for a shocking, headline-grabbing approach like the Third Hospital. Instead, they preferred a gradual build-up, leveraging multiple channels to spread influence without drawing excessive attention.

This method came with plenty of benefits.

First, it was steady and measured. Surging to the top of trending topics overnight could bring a spike in attention, but it also risked a spectacular fallout.

Competitors or dissatisfied patients who had been treated at the hospital often seized such moments to ride the wave, posting negative comments. Under normal circumstances, these criticisms might not gain traction, but with heightened visibility, they could easily climb the trending lists.

This could deal a severe blow to the hospital’s reputation.

Even if everything went smoothly without any hiccups, a sudden spike in popularity often faded just as quickly.

Within ten days or half a month, the impact would likely dissipate.

A subtler approach, like a gentle rain nurturing the soil, proved far more effective. Building awareness bit by bit through various channels ensured the public remembered the hospital over time. The results of such publicity were often more ideal.

Tuyu Hospital had already begun promoting Director Zhang Qilian’s case. If Zhang were to pass away just days after the surgery, it would be like the hospital slapping itself in the face. A counterattack from the Third Hospital would be entirely possible in such a scenario.

That’s why the hospital leadership took this matter so seriously.

Inside the operating room, Zhou Can and Director Xueyan, along with the team, were performing heart surgery on Zhang Qilian.

Despite thorough preoperative preparations, the procedure was still fraught with challenges once it began.

During the chest opening, Director Xueyan accidentally nicked an arterial vessel, causing immediate and relentless bleeding. The vessel was too large for electrocoagulation hemostasis to work. Attempting a vascular anastomosis for repair proved incredibly difficult due to the patient’s severe arterial hardening.

In this critical moment, Zhou Can swiftly took over.

Even though his skills in anastomosis, suturing, and ligature had all reached level six, making him confident enough to perform even nerve anastomosis, connecting this particular vessel still took immense effort.

Thankfully, he managed to complete the anastomosis successfully.

Otherwise, the surgery might have been forced to a halt right at the start.

“Sis Yan, you can take over the surgery now!”

Having cleaned up the mess for her, Zhou Can stepped back. A person’s energy was limited, and he planned to conserve his strength by assisting from the sidelines for now. The most critical part of the surgery was still ahead.

Clearing out the necrotic heart tissue and repairing the heart would undoubtedly be a tough battle.

They had even coordinated with the hospital’s pharmacy and equipment department, ready to retrieve an artificial heart for transplant at a moment’s notice. Relevant surgical department doctors, along with the cardiothoracic surgery team’s surgeons and nurses, were all prepped and on standby.

If they could avoid replacing the heart, that would be ideal. But if there was no other choice, they were prepared to fight with everything they had.

Better to plan for the worst, after all.

“I… when I opened the chest earlier, I clearly struggled. His vessels are so hardened from atherosclerosis that the tactile feedback from the scalpel felt awful. It was hard to distinguish anything. If you’re more confident, it might be safer for you to take the lead.”

She seemed a bit embarrassed.

This patient’s unique physiology made the scalpel’s feedback during dissection completely different from that of a typical patient.

Director Xueyan’s surgical skills hadn’t yet reached a fully mature level; she was still growing and improving. Facing a patient with such a special condition, she felt somewhat out of her depth.

Accidentally damaging a vessel earlier had rattled her nerves quite a bit.

Fortunately, it was just a moderately sized artery.

If it had been the aorta, the consequences would have been catastrophic.

Unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn’t have admitted her struggles in front of so many doctors and nurses.

After all, as the department head, she had to maintain her authority.

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot! Though honestly, my skills might not be any better than yours. As for confidence, I can’t say I have much.”

Zhou Can had no choice but to step up despite his reservations.

As he made his incisions, he deliberately grazed the arterial walls with the blade to gauge their tactile feedback.

The sensation was dull, almost like cutting through worn leather.

Fearing he might damage the artery, he didn’t apply much pressure while sensing the feedback from the vessel wall. This light contact inevitably distorted the true feel somewhat.

Time ticked by, second by second, as he worked to find the most authentic feedback from the scalpel.

No one rushed him.

Zhou Can had collaborated with this team of doctors and nurses many times before. They were well aware of his approach.

He never fought a battle he wasn’t prepared for.

When he stayed still, he was calm. When he moved, it was with the force of a thunderstorm.

After a full ten minutes or so, he seemed to have gathered enough experience. He now had a clearer sense of the feedback from the patient’s vessels. During this time, he had been experimenting with the scalpel in various ways.

It wasn’t just the arteries; he also explored the feedback from the veins.

Damaging the aorta could be fatal, and rupturing a vein would be equally disastrous.

“This patient’s arterial condition is worse than we imagined. The damage extends almost to the smallest capillaries.”

After thoroughly assessing the patient’s vascular state, Zhou Can could only describe it as shocking.

No instrument-based examination could compare to hands-on surgery.

The true condition of the patient’s vessels could only be fully understood after dissection.

Next, Zhou Can officially began to continue opening the chest for the patient.

Each of his cuts was as steady as a mountain, with precise control over force—neither too heavy nor too light, perfectly balanced.

[Incision Technique Experience +1, Bonus Experience +100…]

His incision experience points were soaring rapidly.

With an extra 100 points per bonus, just 10,000 instances would accumulate a million experience points, enough to advance this skill to level seven.

Incision, unlike its narrow literal meaning, was essentially equivalent to dissection.

It wasn’t just about simply cutting through human tissue in a limited sense.

It involved the complexities of anatomical medicine.

Of course, earning 10,000 substantial experience point bonuses from a single surgery was impossible.

Even managing 100 bonuses would be a stretch.

Still, this surgery offered him significant benefits, serving as a valuable accumulation of unique surgical experience. Drop by drop forms a river, grain by grain builds a tower. As long as he kept accumulating experience and occasionally tackled high-difficulty surgeries like this, advancing his incision technique would be just a matter of time.

After a grueling six-plus hours, Zhou Can was nearly exhausted to the point of collapse.

The surgery began at ten past eleven in the morning and didn’t conclude until half-past five in the afternoon. Throughout the entire procedure, Zhou Can hadn’t sipped a drop of water or eaten lunch, focusing solely on saving the patient’s life and ensuring the surgery’s success.

Originally, his plan was to handle only the core parts of the operation.

But due to the patient’s severe arterial hardening, the scalpel’s feedback was so distorted that Director Xueyan and the others couldn’t manage critical segments of the surgery. Almost the entire burden fell squarely on his shoulders.

Luckily, he was young, with ample stamina and energy, and gritted his teeth to push through.

The surgery went relatively smoothly, with no major issues arising by the end.

As for the patient’s postoperative recovery, that remained an unknown.

“Everyone, you’ve all worked hard. None of us had lunch. If you don’t mind, let’s grab a quick meal in the break room. I’ve already ordered food; it was delivered not long ago and should still be warm.”

Director Xueyan addressed all the medical staff.

This surgery had been incredibly challenging, and the hospital leadership had been closely monitoring its progress, frequently calling the operating room nurses for updates.

Now that the surgery was successfully completed, the hospital leaders could likely breathe a sigh of relief.

Cardiothoracic Surgery and Cardiovascular Departments were among the hospital’s most critical units.

In truth, most major hospitals were similar. The departments generating the highest revenue were always the same few. Cardiac Surgery, Cardiovascular Medicine, General Surgery, Neurology, and Orthopedics—these departments consistently topped the revenue charts.

Recently, another department had emerged: Oncology.

However, for various reasons, the Oncology Department often faced high rates of patient disputes and was frequently criticized for profiting off misfortune.

Tuyu Hospital’s decision-makers were shrewd. Profit was necessary, but they couldn’t risk tarnishing the hospital’s century-old reputation just to capitalize on oncology. Thus, most oncology operations were currently concentrated at their second affiliated hospital.

It was akin to how some listed companies set up subsidiaries to test new ventures or divert operations, reducing overall risk.

This followed the principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket.

After the meal, Director Xueyan turned to Zhou Can. “Zhou Can, come with me to the Vice-Director’s office for operations.”

“Sure!”

Zhou Can understood this meant reporting to the hospital leadership now that the surgery was done.

Lately, he’d been swamped and hadn’t visited Deputy Director Ye’s office in quite a while.

Unless there was a specific reason, most doctors preferred to avoid visiting a Vice-Director.

The weight of authority was unpredictable.

Many doctors would rather focus on their work than engage in flattery or politicking.

When the two arrived at Deputy Director Ye’s office, they were surprised to find Deputy Director Bai, who oversaw administrative affairs, also present.

Judging by the smiles on both Vice-Directors’ faces, they seemed to be in good spirits.

“Please, take a seat! You’ve done a great service for the hospital today. Successfully completing the surgery on that heart attack patient was no small feat.”

Deputy Director Ye beamed as he personally poured tea for them.

Neither Director Xueyan nor Zhou Can were adept at schmoozing with leadership. They were the honest type who relied on skill and hard work to get by.

Sitting in Deputy Director Ye’s spacious office, both felt a bit out of place.

“Director Xue, can you assure us about the patient’s postoperative recovery?”

“Uh… it’s hard to say definitively at this point. Postoperative heart failure is almost certain. But as long as there’s no major infection, his life should be secure.”

Director Xueyan’s response was cautious.

Truthfully, successfully completing the surgery was already a significant achievement. Expecting the patient to recover to a normal level was nearly impossible.

“Hmm! As long as his life is secure, that’s the greatest success. The hospital did some publicity on this case a couple of days ago. Based on feedback from the Publicity Department, the initial results are showing. If the patient were to pass away shortly after surgery, our hospital would be in an extremely passive position.”

Deputy Director Ye was essentially laying it out for Director Xueyan and Zhou Can.

The underlying message was clear: this patient must not die easily.

At Deputy Director Ye’s level, concern for the patient’s life itself wasn’t the priority. What mattered more was the hospital’s interests and reputation.

“Zhou Can, I heard you took the lead in this surgery and put in tremendous effort. Young man, you’ve got drive and determination. Well done!”

After getting an update on the patient, Deputy Director Ye began to praise Zhou Can.

It seemed Director Xueyan hadn’t downplayed his contributions.

“I just put in some hard work. The real credit goes to Director Xue’s guidance and the full support and cooperation of all the surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists. That’s what made the surgery a success.”

Zhou Can remained humble, refusing to take all the credit.

Instead, he shared the praise with everyone involved in the surgery.

This kind of modesty was incredibly effective at winning over hearts. His high approval rating across multiple departments and popularity among colleagues had much to do with his lack of greed for recognition.

“Haha, you’re absolutely right. A surgery’s success hinges on the entire team, even the collaboration of multiple departments and teams. Your mindset is exceptional, and your character is impressive. It’s just a shame your experience is still a bit lacking; otherwise, you could rise even faster.”

Deputy Director Ye’s words carried deeper implications.

What did he mean by rising faster?

As of now, Zhou Can hadn’t taken on any leadership roles.

He hadn’t even held a mid-level position in any department.

“There are no outsiders here, so I can share a little with you both. Director Xue has led Cardiothoracic Surgery to remarkable achievements in recent years, and it’s plain for all to see. Right now, our hospital is undergoing sweeping reforms, not just in clinical department systems but also at the leadership level. As long as Director Xue continues to strive and avoids major missteps, she should be in the running for a Vice-Director candidacy soon.”

Perhaps sensing Zhou Can’s confusion, Deputy Director Ye dropped a bombshell of exciting news.

Deputy Director Bai, meanwhile, sipped his tea leisurely, choosing not to interject.

Director Xueyan was currently just a department head in a surgical unit. The idea that she could directly compete for a Vice-Director position was utterly shocking.

If these words hadn’t come straight from Deputy Director Ye, neither Zhou Can nor Director Xueyan would have dared believe it.

Under normal circumstances, she would need to toil as the Cardiothoracic Surgery head for over five years before being eligible to compete for a deputy director role in the broader Surgical Department. Then, after another three to five years, she could vie for the director position.

Missing any opportunity meant waiting another three to five years.

This was why many Vice-Directors were at least in their fifties by the time they were appointed.

Women faced even greater disadvantages, as their retirement age was five years earlier than men’s.

In reality, most people started working at similar ages. A man appointed Vice-Director at fifty might, with luck, still aim for the Director’s seat by fifty-five.

For women, the age limit for Vice-Director candidacy was generally set at forty-eight, which already excluded many potential candidates.

Advancing further to compete for Director was even more challenging.

This was one reason why most hospital Directors were male, with women often peaking at Vice-Director roles.

Either their experience wasn’t sufficient for selection, or by the time it was, they’d exceeded the age limit.

“Is… is this for real?”

Director Xueyan asked, her voice trembling with disbelief.

“It’s real. You can start preparing for this now. Myself, Deputy Director Bai, and the other Vice-Directors will mostly retire in the near future. When that happens, the hospital’s Vice-Director positions will undergo reform, and your chances are significant.”

Deputy Director Ye replied with a serious tone.