The Enhanced Doctor

"Wei Yuan, have you made up your mind?" Wang Lei asked after Liu Banxia left.

Wei Yuan nodded. His hands didn't stop working. "I'll endure the hardship for a couple of years and give it my all. After all, I've finally entered this profession."

"What do you think of Shoutian's performance today? He seemed quite professional," Wang Lei asked.

Liang Xiaolin, who was nearby, couldn't help but perk up her ears.

"I really admire Shi Lei now. I've mentored trainees before, but none of them were as outstanding as Shoutian," Wei Yuan said wistfully.

"That kid is absolutely straightforward. We both had two patients today. His patient's condition was serious; mine was milder. As soon as I finished with my patient, he had already made all the arrangements for his."

"That kid will achieve great things. If it were me, and I had opportunities to freelance, I might not have taken this chief resident job. With a signature skill like his expertise in small-incision surgery, he's set for a comfortable life."

Wang Lei nodded. "That guy is always joking around, but he's actually very ambitious. Whenever he comes over to my place with Shi Lei for dinner, he constantly pesters Shi Lei to explain surgical techniques. He truly never wastes a single moment."

"Doctor Liang, don't pass on our gossip about President Liu to him. That guy is petty. He might find an excuse to have our Lily cook something for us."

"I won't tell him," Liang Xiaolin quickly shook her head.

After she had spoken, she felt a little upset, realizing that Wang Lei had been teasing her. But the real culprit was Liu Banxia; why did he have to ditch her here?

Liu Banxia, the subject of gossip in the operating room, wasn't having an easy time either. He inserted the film of another car accident victim into the light box.

"The cranial CT and X-ray are normal. The only tricky part is this hematoma on the duodenum," Liu Banxia said, pointing at the film.

"Doctor, do I need surgery?" The patient immediately grew nervous.

"There are two options. One is to observe for now," Liu Banxia said.

"This was caused by the seatbelt. The hematoma isn't large, which means it has already coagulated and the bleeding has stopped. We can keep you in the hospital for observation; it might resolve on its own. The other option is surgical removal. As a doctor, my recommendation is to observe first."

"But I still have this bloated and painful feeling in my stomach," the patient said.

"That's normal. You had a bleeding point, and there's still a clot. Just rest, and it should be absorbed in a few days," Liu Banxia said.

"Get in touch with your family. Whether we keep you for observation or perform surgery, you'll need your family members to care for you. Next time you go out, not only should you wear a seatbelt, but you should also remind everyone else in the car."

"Can I not call my family?" the patient asked, looking troubled.

"Well, how can we proceed without calling your family? Besides, it's a car accident; a major event like this can't be hidden, right? We still need to find a way to contact that girl's family. Do you know any of her friends?" Liu Banxia asked.

The patient shook his head. "Today is only the second day I've known her."

Liu Banxia said nothing more; this wasn't his business.

"What a terrible person," Shen Lin said angrily after Liu Banxia left.

"It's not the first or second time we've seen this. It takes two to tango. Just be careful when his family arrives later; we don't want a full-blown fight to break out here," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"Is that girl okay?" Shen Lin asked.

"She's okay for now. Her spleen has been removed, there was bleeding in the mesentery, and we'll check the head CT again later. Qi Wentai, you need to pay close attention to this patient. Keep an eye on him; after all, he has a hematoma," Liu Banxia said.

Qi Wentai was very reluctant, but he still had to nod. This was the patient he had admitted. Even if Liu Banxia hadn't said anything, he would have been responsible for him. But Liu Banxia had specifically pointed it out, which felt grating to him.

It didn't take long for the male patient's family to arrive. If they hadn't been prepared, a full-blown fight might have erupted.

It couldn't be concealed. He was the driver in the accident, and the girl had sustained such severe injuries. He bore responsibility. The overall situation was pretty much as Liu Banxia and his colleagues had guessed: the male patient was having an affair.

"Ma'am, please try to calm down for now. Let's focus on the patient first," Liu Banxia said.

"Why didn't he just die in the crash? If he died, I'd be relieved," the patient's wife said, still furious.

"Ma'am, please don't say that. Family issues should be dealt with at home. Once your husband has recovered, you can sort things out with him then," Liu Banxia advised again.

"Ugh... How did I end up with such a good-for-nothing," the patient's wife sighed.

Anyone in this situation would find it hard to cope. This was actually one of the more rational family members Liu Banxia had encountered.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...

At that moment, the monitor alarm blared. The patient, who had been lying quietly in bed, clutched his stomach and began to writhe in agony.

"Ah..."

The moment Liu Banxia placed his hand on the patient's abdomen to begin percussion, the patient cried out in pain.

"Notify the operating room to prepare! The hematoma has likely ruptured!" Liu Banxia ordered promptly.

"Doctor, Doctor, is he going to be okay?" The patient's wife was genuinely panicked now.

"Right now, we can only provide emergency treatment: an exploratory laparotomy and repair. Qi Wentai, prepare the surgical consent form and meet me in the operating room once it's signed and confirmed," Liu Banxia said, then immediately started pushing the gurney towards the operating room with the nurses.

The patient's sudden change was likely due to emotional distress causing a spike in blood pressure, which in turn caused the existing hematoma to rupture and perforate.

He had dealt with intestinal perforations before, but now he was worried there might be other complications.

The female patient he'd just operated on was in OR 3. He'd seen it was still in use when he passed by, so he had to rush to this one. If things got complicated, he could call Wei Yuan.

Liu Banxia scrubbed in, stepped up to the operating table, and took a deep breath.

"Exploratory laparotomy reveals a large amount of blood mixed with feces in the abdominal cavity, indicating duodenal perforation and rupture of mesenteric blood vessels. Begin aspiration," Liu Banxia said calmly after making the incision.

After aspirating for a while, the view of the abdominal cavity became somewhat clearer. Liu Banxia furrowed his brows. The area around the perforation showed slight hematoma formation, which would complicate the repair.

But for the current Liu Banxia, who had sutured a beating heart, he was someone who had seen his share of major situations and wasn't easily intimidated.

He had let Wei Yuan take the lead earlier to build camaraderie and pave the way for future teamwork. But this current procedure was one he'd done before; naturally, he wouldn't hesitate and would act decisively when needed.

After ligating the mesenteric blood vessels to stop the bleeding and cleaning the abdominal cavity and the perforation site, he immediately began suturing. By the time Qi Wentai arrived, he was almost finished.

"Step up. Irrigate the abdominal cavity, then place a drainage tube and close," Liu Banxia said after tying off the last knot and cutting the suture.

DING! Emergency treatment completed. Gained 700 experience points, 300 points in diagnostic skill proficiency, and 500 points in suturing skill proficiency.

Mission Rating: Perfect. Gained 1,000 experience points, 1,000 points in diagnostic skill proficiency, and 1,000 points in suturing skill proficiency.

Congratulations to the host for reaching Level 24 (33,255/34,373 XP), gaining 1 attribute point and 5 Glory Points.

Liu Banxia stretched and stepped aside.