Chapter 61: Surging Skills in the Operating Room

Fortunately, Zhou Can has proven himself—so far, he hasn’t caused any trouble for Dr. Xu.

With each surgery, his experience grows, and his skill improves steadily.

In contrast, although Jin Mingxi boasts over a decade of clinical experience, he seldom consults Dr. Xu, relying on past glories; his progress lags far behind Zhou Can’s.

Also, Zhou Can’s surgical speed is much higher than Jin Mingxi’s—a significant advantage.

Where Zhou Can can perform three surgeries, Jin Mingxi manages at most two.

And as Zhou Can’s techniques become increasingly refined, the gap between them only widens.

The more surgeries he performs, the more he learns—the continual accumulation of experience only makes him stronger.

Jin Mingxi seems to have sensed this growing disparity as well.

He has been straining to catch up, but being over ten years older than Zhou Can, both his stamina and mental agility lag behind. He ends up drenched in sweat with little progress.

……

By 4 p.m., Zhou Can had completed eighteen surgeries.

His biggest gains were in suturing and ligature techniques.

Even if each operation averages five sutures, eighteen surgeries would boost his suturing experience by 90 points and his ligature experience by around 80 points.

The ligature experience gains are a bit lower because not every suture requires tying off.

For instance, the continuous suturing method.

You only tie twice at the start and once at the end.

Therefore, suturing yields more experience than ligature.

He also picked up a solid 11 points in debridement technique experience.

At this pace, he could reach the level of an attending resident in debridement in just eight or nine days.

Debridement has extensive applications in surgery.

A well-performed debridement not only drastically reduces the risk of wound infection and abscess formation but also makes suturing much easier, allowing for near-perfect stitching.

It helps wounds heal faster and better, minimizing scarring.

Its importance is even more pronounced in emergency resuscitation.

The success of hemorrhage control often hinges on the quality of vascular debridement.

Furthermore, debridement can be a game-changer when clearing necrotic tissue or eliminating infectious abscesses.

Though it might seem like a basic procedure, debridement is regarded as advanced medicine for a good reason.

Its importance is on par with suturing, device implantation, and tissue separation.

Beyond these gains, he scored another ‘minor’ benefit.

A patient receiving four injections means that for eighteen patients, that’s 72 injections in total.

This amounted to a total gain of 72 injection experience points.

His injection skill was originally at Level 2 (48/100). After adding 72 points, he jumped straight to Level 3 with a current experience of 20/1000.

Although this skill seems less useful in surgery, the more techniques one knows, the better.

After all, having an extra skill is always a boon.

At the very least, he no longer has to worry about getting beaten up when establishing a venous line for children.

He is fully capable of doing it right the first time.

His current injection proficiency should be on par with that of a head nurse.

That’s far more impressive than the average nurse.

“Little Zhou, how do you feel?”

Dr. Xu removed his gloves and looked at him.

“I feel great. Today’s gains surpassed what I learned in an entire month as an intern.”

Thanks to Dr. Xu’s favor with the attending surgeons, they managed to admit over a dozen patients who would normally only have surgery in the specialty clinic.

Out of the eighteen surgeries, only four were trauma cases involving open wounds and emergency sutures.

The rest covered a variety of procedures.

He even performed a thrombosed external hemorrhoid surgery.

Normally, hemorrhoid surgeries are classified as Level 2 or 3. Not only is Zhou Can, but even his mentor Dr. Xu isn’t usually qualified to perform Level 3 surgeries.

But there are always exceptions.

Thrombosed external hemorrhoid surgery is considered a Level 1 operation.

That was one of the key reasons Zhou Can got the opportunity.

Through that procedure, he learned a wealth of valuable techniques for treating hemorrhoids—such as making radial incisions, identifying a thrombus, and managing it effectively.

He even participated in six or seven surgeries that were entirely new to him.

This is why he often sought Dr. Xu’s advice.

Today’s gains were truly remarkable.

“Hehe, looks like it’s paying off! Let’s keep it up tomorrow,” Dr. Xu said with a satisfied smile.

His gaze then shifted to Jin Mingxi.

“Dr. Jin, what about you?”

“I definitely got some benefits, but I just can’t compare to that prodigy Zhou Can. For the same debridement and suturing procedure, he finishes in roughly half the time I do. And his quality is just exceptional—I’m truly in awe of him.”

Jin Mingxi wore a look of utter helplessness.

Everyone’s abilities are different.

Zhou Can’s surgical prowess is advancing so rapidly that while he might have been slightly weaker than Jin Mingxi during the residency exams, he has now overtaken him.

“You don’t need to compare yourself to anyone. Just strive to surpass your past self,” Dr. Xu advised.

Dr. Xu truly is a natural teacher.

He adapts his instruction to each junior doctor.

For instance, for the average Dr. Lin, he only demands gradual improvement in basic surgical skills. And for the lazy, irresponsible Dr. Lu, he keeps him close to ensure he works seriously.

For the rare talent that Zhou Can is, he gradually gives him more autonomy.

He makes sure to provide every opportunity for growth.

However, for surgeries where the risks are uncontrollably high, Zhou Can is never allowed to participate.

Dr. Xu is a perfect balance of leniency and strictness.

He prevents his students from making mistakes without stifling their progress.

Dr. Xu’s gaze returned to Zhou Can, filled with both kindness and a trace of nostalgia.

His expression was remarkably complex.

“Little Zhou, being fast in surgery is both a blessing and a curse. Do you understand what I mean?”

Zhou Can shook his head in confusion.

“I just know that in critical emergencies, every second counts. The faster you complete a surgery, the less damage the patient sustains. In life-or-death situations, even a one-second advantage can save a life.”

Take a patient with massive bleeding, for example.

The quicker you identify the source, the sooner you can operate—and that greatly improves outcomes.

Delay too long and the patient might never make it to the operating table.

“There’s nothing wrong with striving for speed. But when you do, you tend to become anxious. Especially when you’re later qualified to perform Level 4 major surgeries, where critical steps must be completed within two to three minutes—or even seconds—a single misstep can haunt you for life.”

A thoughtful glimmer flashed in Zhou Can’s eyes.

Unless you’ve experienced it firsthand, it’s hard to truly grasp these deep insights.

“Teacher, you’re known as ‘Xu Yidao’ because you used to be a fast knife, right?” Zhou Can asked cautiously.

His curiosity about Dr. Xu’s past was too strong to keep silent.

“That story, though long past, isn’t exactly a secret. Back then, I was one of the prized blades in general surgery, and along with Director Wu Baihe of General Surgery and Director Hu Kan of Cardiothoracic Surgery, we were known as the Three Great Knives of Tuyu.”

Dr. Xu’s tone was filled with fond memories of those glorious days.

They were truly the highlights of his career.

Director Wu Baihe’s surgical skill was nothing short of astonishing.

His cuts in surgery were precise down to 0.1 millimeters—can you imagine?

A top surgeon could slice through a stack of paper, slicing as many sheets as they wished. It was an ability that many surgeons looked up to in awe.

A sheet of paper is about one millimeter thick.

0.1 millimeters is merely a tenth of that thickness.

Director Wu Baihe had honed his precision to a level ten times finer than the standard for a chief surgeon.

No wonder he dominated the Neurosurgery Department at Tuyu Hospital.

His surgical prowess was something that countless chief surgeons admired for a lifetime.

No matter how hard other chief surgeons trained, they could scarcely reach his level.

One must admit that besides hard work and innate talent, the right opportunities are crucial.