Chapter 521: Emergency Consultation: Breaking Through the Boundaries of Surgery

Seeing the resolve in Zhou Can’s eyes, Chief Xiang was moved.

Just inviting Zhou Can to his office to discuss the patient’s treatment plan had already been a big step—he was swallowing his pride for the patient’s sake.

He didn’t want to give up halfway.

“Wait here in my office. It’ll make it easier for me to find you quickly,” Chief Xiang said as he saved Zhou Can’s number and grabbed the patient’s file before heading out.

He took along the sketch Zhou Can had drawn earlier when explaining the surgical plan.

Honestly, it was just a few simple diagrams.

Anyone who isn’t a professional surgeon would struggle to understand them.

Chief Xiang was clearly off to consult with other department heads. Time was running out—saving lives waits for no one.

No matter the outcome, Zhou Can found a new level of respect for Chief Xiang’s integrity and character.

To place a patient’s life above all else, running around to bring together specialists from different departments for a joint rescue—that kind of dedication isn’t something you see in every doctor.

Most doctors wouldn’t go to these lengths for a patient who isn’t even connected to them.

After all, this goes way beyond what’s expected in their job description.

……

The wait seemed to drag on endlessly. Zhou Can knew all too well that with each passing second, Deputy Director Lu’s condition was growing more dangerous.

Finally, Zhou Can’s phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number. Trusting his instincts, he thought it was probably Chief Xiang.

He picked up.

“Dr. Zhou, this is Chief Xiang from Provincial People’s Hospital! You’re still in my office, right?”

“Yes, I’m here!”

“I’ve already discussed your treatment plan with specialists from Neurosurgery and Thoracic Surgery. I also briefed Chief Huang from our Medical Department.

He didn’t say no—he just asked that you and the patient’s immediate family come to the consultation room for a quick talk.”

After a huge amount of effort, Chief Xiang had finally convinced the two specialists and the head of the Medical Department.

This was a big breakthrough.

Bringing in the family members now meant they were probably about to get down to a direct conversation.

Because the hospital would be taking a massive risk by doing endoscopic surgery, they’d need the family’s signature. Time was tight; everyone needed to talk at once.

“Alright, I’ll bring the family over right away.”

Without another word, Zhou Can found Lu Fen. A Critical Care nurse was already waiting for them.

They were taken straight to the neurosurgery consultation room.

In Deputy Director Lu’s case, the toughest part would definitely be stopping the bleeding inside the skull.

Even just drilling into the skull is dangerous. For someone so frail, that single procedure could easily spark a cascade of problems—it could snuff out the remaining flame of life at any moment.

When Zhou Can arrived in the consultation room, he saw about eight or nine people already seated inside.

“Let me introduce everyone. This is Dr. Zhou Can from Tuyu—a talented young doctor with impressive skill.”

Chief Xiang gave Zhou Can high praise.

“Dr. Zhou, this is Chief Huang from our hospital’s Medical Department.”

The middle-aged man sitting at the head of the table had a broad face and large ears, with an air of authority—clearly an administration leader.

“Hello, Chief Huang.”

Zhou Can greeted him politely, keeping his tone humble.

“Hello! Welcome to our People’s Hospital.”

Chief Huang nodded in a measured, reserved manner.

“This is Chief Gou Qiong from Thoracic Surgery. Here’s Chief Wu Yongming from Neurosurgery. And this is Chief Ming Xin from Anesthesiology—my mentor and senior.”

Xiang Fei went on to introduce three more key figures.

The other doctors and nurses in the room were mostly students or assistants to these main doctors.

Zhou Can greeted each person in turn.

Chief Ming Xin from Anesthesiology was a woman in her fifties with remarkable presence. There wasn’t a hint of weariness that sometimes comes with age. In her eyes and on her face, Zhou Can could see an energetic, forward-looking spirit.

That made Zhou Can silently click his tongue in admiration.

A person’s spirit reveals a lot about how they live, their health, and their drive to learn.

Most adults over fifty end up in one of two camps—either they’ve made it in their careers and enjoy life playing mahjong, fishing, sipping drinks with friends, or traveling the world, or they’re still grinding just to get by, with little to show for it.

Most people fall into one of these two groups.

Especially the latter.

But there’s a rarer kind—a person who, regardless of career success, keeps on striving and learning.

Honestly, anyone who can keep learning their whole life usually does just fine, even if they’re not top of their field.

Of course, if luck’s truly against you, there’s not much you can do.

Doctors are a special case—thanks to rapid advances in medical science and technology, things change fast. Many surgeries from twenty years ago are now obsolete, or have been upgraded with new tech for better results.

It’s the same with medication.

Doctors have to keep learning and stay current with these changes.

Otherwise, relying on two-decade-old techniques can do real harm to patients.

Cardiovascular disease used to have sky-high death rates and terrible outcomes. But now, with interventions like stents, new drugs, and advanced technology, survival rates are much higher.

Take, for instance, the aortic dissection surgery that made Zhou Can famous. In the past, once blood started leaking through the vessel walls, patients were basically hopeless.

But with modern interventions—vascular stents and synthetic vessels—he was able to resolve the risk and save the patient.

While most doctors do their best to keep learning, their busy workloads and growing family duties make it tough. As adults, you want to enjoy life too.

So, naturally, most can’t devote much time to further study.

It’s truly remarkable that Chief Ming Xin, well into her fifties, still radiates a youthful spirit.

That also suggested her anesthesia skills had to be top-notch.

Even more interesting, she’s also Xiang Fei’s mentor.

Looking at their ages, she can’t be much older than Xiang Fei—she’s a senior but also a teacher, which is quite rare.

At Tuyu Hospital where Zhou Can works, there are plenty who count as his seniors.

Frankly, even those ten years older than him rarely have anything to teach him.

Back in his youth, Chief Xiang may not have been as jaw-dropping as Zhou Can, but he clearly excelled. The man’s got a reputation as the ‘King of Hell’s Nemesis.’

Those with great reputations don’t get them by accident.

“I’ve long heard Tuyu Hospital boasts outstanding young doctors. The surgical proposal Dr. Zhou made for Bed 13 is quite feasible.”

That was Chief Wu Yongming from Neurosurgery speaking.

Zhou Can had suggested drilling into the patient’s skull to use endoscopic surgery to repair the blood vessels—a technique that had already been tested many times in Tuyu Hospital’s neurosurgery department with very few failures.

You could call it a new technique that had been well proven.

Doctors like Wu Baihe and the department continued refining and perfecting it until it became a very mature technique.

But compared to Tuyu Hospital, Provincial People’s Hospital seemed to lag behind in adopting this new technology.

At many hospitals, the use of endoscopy is still in its early stages—mainly exploration. Even if they’ve tried endoscopic operations, it’s basic stuff like appendectomies.

Most hospitals haven’t tackled the riskier, more technically difficult endoscopic procedures.

There are a lot of reasons for this situation.

First, truly skilled endoscopic surgeons are extremely rare—meaning not just anyone who can stop some bleeding or remove a tumor with an endoscope, but doctors who excel at these complex operations.

Second, endoscopic surgery is still relatively new in the country, with many foreign technical barriers holding things back.

That goes for not just surgical skills but also top-notch equipment, medicines, and specialized materials.

To be blunt, the quality of many domestic surgical substitute materials is shockingly poor.

Imported materials have a lot of advantages—the only real downside is cost.

People talk about overtaking competitors through shortcuts, but in reality, those companies have decades or even a century of experience with high-tech devices and materials. Closing that gap in just a decade or two is a fantasy.

In many fields, the country still faces a real technology gap with global leaders, especially for medical devices and drugs.

If the difference is only ten years, that’s actually pretty good.

In some areas, the gap is more like thirty years or more. It’s been a long, hard climb from nothing to where things are now.

The only thing to do is keep improving. If we keep moving forward, eventually that gap will shrink—and maybe, one day, we’ll catch up.

But that’s going to take time.

Another factor limiting the rapid spread of endoscopic techniques across the country is the challenging environment in healthcare.

Doctor-patient relations have gotten so tense that most doctors play it safe when suggesting treatments.

Few are willing to take risks.

Even if a doctor is willing and confident in their skills, they still need family consent—and for truly innovative techniques, the approval of hospital leadership. There are so many hoops to jump through it’s no wonder people get discouraged.

On top of that, with the arrival of things like the Da Vinci surgical robot, many young doctors aren’t pushing themselves to master their manual surgical skills.

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Doctors may spend decades sharpening their skills, finally reaching a high level.

But who knows—by then, robots may have taken over most surgeries?

Robots have plenty of advantages when it comes to surgery compared to people.

If it weren’t for the high cost, robotic surgery would already be widespread.

“I also support Dr. Zhou’s plan for laparoscopic surgery,” added Chief Gou Qiong from Thoracic Surgery.

With two specialists backing him, there was real hope his plan would get approved.

Zhou Can couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy.

“Even though the surgical plan is workable, the patient’s condition is extremely poor. I doubt she could survive both abdominal and cranial surgery. Even if endoscopic surgery is minimally invasive, it may still be too much for her,” Chief Ming Xin from Anesthesiology said, shooting down the plan in one sentence.

If a proposed surgery can’t get past the anesthesiologist, it’s as good as dead before it begins.

“The biggest danger now is the bleeding in her skull. The rising pressure and decreased blood flow to her brain are why she hasn’t woken up. Without surgery, she likely won’t make it through the night—maybe not even six hours,” Zhou Can said. This wasn’t an exaggeration.

It was based on both his clinical experience and Deputy Director Lu’s actual situation.

“I agree with Dr. Zhou—the patient’s coma is due to cranial bleeding. Even with full life support, surviving six hours is unlikely, and the chance for spontaneous hemostasis is almost zero.”

That was Chief Wu Yongming from Neurosurgery. He definitely sounded like he was taking Zhou Can’s side.

But when it comes to medical decisions, it’s never about politics—only what’s best for the patient.

When Zhou Can was right, he had to back him up.

“Even if that’s the case, if the patient can’t survive surgery, what’s the point? Are we just ending her life faster?” Chief Ming Xin’s words cut sharply.

“Of course not. My suggestion is to start with abdominal surgery—fix the ruptured spleen and any possible pancreatic injuries first. If the left kidney is badly injured, take care of that too. Pancreatic issues can be particularly dangerous, and the longer the crisis drags on, the harder it is to reverse. Laparoscopic surgery first will stabilize the patient’s blood pressure and breathing to levels safe for surgery. Then, cranial endoscopy would be much less risky later on…”

Zhou Can explained his plan step by step—he’d clearly mapped it out in his head before coming.

Chief Ming Xin fell quiet, deep in thought.

Gou Qiong, Wu Yongming, and Xiang Fei all gave Zhou Can looks mixed with amazement and admiration.

This guy really was a surgical genius.

Working on the abdomen first instead of rushing to the brain went against everyone’s instincts. Without keen judgment and a broad perspective, no one would’ve thought of it.

None of the experts present had come up with that approach.

They’d either focused on starting with the cranial surgery or tried to do both at once.

It was like dealing with a pot of burning oil. There’s a bucket of water and some wooden planks nearby.

Most people would instinctively grab the water to douse the fire.

But Zhou Can’s plan was to use the wooden planks to cover the pot and smother the flames instead.

Throwing water on it might seem fast but would clearly make things worse.

His approach, though slower and maybe clumsy, could truly solve the problem and prevent disaster.

It sounds easy, but in the heat of the moment, most people would rush for the water.

“I have to admit, your surgical plan seems risky but actually makes sense. If it’s executed carefully, there’s a real chance of saving her,” Chief Ming Xin said after thinking it through, finally acknowledging Zhou Can’s proposal.

With that, the anesthesiologist was on board.

“Thank you for your trust and willingness to take a risk for this patient. This is her daughter and only close family—she has full authority to decide and sign off on the operation,” Zhou Can said, turning to Lu Fen.

In the consultation room, surrounded by chiefs and the Medical Department head, Lu Fen felt the intensity and couldn’t help feeling out of place.

She was, after all, still a student.

“Dr. Zhou is the person my father trusts most. I trust him too. I fully support the surgical plan the doctors discussed here.” Lu Fen voiced her agreement and stood to bow to Zhou Can and the assembled doctors.

“You may all have agreed, but I haven’t! Give me a reason to say yes—otherwise, I can’t approve such a risk,” Chief Huang from the Medical Department spoke up, opposing at the crucial moment.

Zhou Can was momentarily lost for words.