Little Sorcerer, Divine Doctor
Chapter 79 - 14: Craniotomy

Chapter 79: Chapter 14: Craniotomy

It was only half an hour, yet the boy’s head had swollen significantly, resembling an inflated balloon.

Doctor Fan had examined his other injuries, none of which were fatal; the most severe injury was on his head, where he had been kicked by a horse.

He believed that there must be a blood clot inside the child’s brain.

And the only way to remove the blood clot would be to open up the child’s skull.

This method, on the Wuji Continent, was almost unheard of and terrifying, yet Yun Sheng, with her modern medical knowledge, shared the same view.

But Yun Sheng also realized the dangers associated with trepanation.

Even in modern times, the head is the most vulnerable part of the body, and even with sophisticated medical equipment aiding the surgery, there would still be significant side effects if successful.

Thus Yun Sheng could readily list the side effects of trepanation. In fact, Doctor Fan had had a similar experience earlier, where a patient suffered paralysis from the waist down after a trepanation treatment and remains bedridden to this day.

But even being paralyzed from the waist down is better than death, so Doctor Fan did not hesitate to choose trepanation for the boy in front of him.

Even though Yun Sheng had stayed in the medical hall for a while, she had never entered Doctor Fan’s room before. She noticed that Doctor Fan’s residence bore some similarities to modern Western doctors’ quarters.

There was even a complete human skeleton displayed here, no wonder people outside thought Doctor Fan was a ghost doctor.

Doctor Fan also paid attention to Yun Sheng’s reactions. He initially thought that Yun Sheng would be terrified upon seeing the human skeleton, but she merely glanced at it casually without further reactions.

"Based on what you said earlier, you must have witnessed trepanation surgeries before. When I perform the trepanation, if there’s anything wrong, you should point it out directly," in front of Yun Sheng’s calm demeanor, Doctor Fan had already overlooked the fact that she was only a six-year-old child, even regarding her as an experienced doctor just like himself.

"Sure, the room is too dark. Do you have a bigger mirror, preferably a full-length one," Yun Sheng assessed Doctor Fan’s quarters from the perspective of a modern medical practitioner. The room was too narrow, somewhat cluttered, most importantly, the lighting was insufficient. Alcohol for sterilization, hemostatic agents, and beast tendon for stitching were also needed, which seemed inadequately prepared by Doctor Fan.

Upon Yun Sheng’s reminder, Doctor Fan fetched a mirror and also got the alcohol and beast tendon as required by Yun Sheng. However, he had not prepared any hemostatic agent.

"Why is there no hemostatic agent? The most dangerous aspect of trepanation is brain hemorrhage; what if the patient bleeds? How would you handle that?" Yun Sheng asked in surprise.

"Hemostatic agents are needed in ancient medical skills, you forgot, I also studied magic. When it comes to stopping bleeding, I don’t use hemostatic agents but have other ways to stop the bleeding," Doctor Fan said and began his trepanation surgery.

On the Wuji Continent, there were no X-ray machines or any imaging equipment, and Yun Sheng’s Shennong’s Eyes had only reached the Subtle Realm; she couldn’t see through where the blood clots in the child’s brain were.

However, Doctor Fan’s experience was utilized in this regard. He felt around the swollen part of the child’s head for a moment, quickly focusing on the back of the child’s head.

From the wound, it was evident that the horse had kicked directly at the back of his head, hence there was a horseshoe-shaped indent there.

This location was likely where the blood had accumulated the most.

After confirming the location of the blood clot, Doctor Fan’s hand emitted a chilling coldness. Yun Sheng saw water magic elements rapidly condense in his hand, forming a blade as robust as her own Beast Bone Knife.

Forming a surgical blade from condensed magic elements?

Witnessing this, Yun Sheng was rendered speechless.

This blade, although formed from condensed water elements into an ice blade, was as hard as a Beast Bone Knife, and importantly, its shape could be completely altered according to the Mage’s requirements!

Is this the perfect fusion of magic and ancient medical skill?

Yun Sheng felt as if she had entered a completely new domain, where magic combined with ancient medical skills could perhaps fill the gap of lacking modern medical equipment on the Wuji Continent. Yun Sheng’s heart raced with anticipation for the ongoing craniotomy, her expectations elevated.

Under the reflection of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, the room’s light brightened significantly.

This was also more conducive to Doctor Fan performing his craniotomy treatment.

The Magic Ice Blade sliced through the skin at the back of the young boy’s head, soon exposing the cranial bone filled with nerves and tiny capillaries.

Blood instantly flowed out, but miraculously, where the Magic Ice Blade had passed, the blood that should have spurted was immediately solidified by the cold Magic Elements.

Perfect!

This way, there would be no so-called symptom of massive bleeding.

In fact, modern medical treatments have also used localized freezing to treat some pathological tissues, but Magic Elements are gentler than modern medical equipment, capable of temporarily freezing blood without damaging internal tissues.

This method was even faster than if Yun Sheng had directly used Golden Needles to stop the bleeding.

No wonder Doctor Fan had earlier stated that he did not need a Hemostatic Agent.

By this point, the surgery had already progressed by a small half, and Yun Sheng could see a thick blood clot with her naked eyes.

It was this large blood clot that had caused the boy’s brain swelling and his persistent coma.

Next up, she needed to shatter the blood clot in the boy’s brain and then remove it.

Doctor Fan’s ice blade slowly thinned as he meticulously cleared the clot from the child’s brain.

In the small basin placed on the floor, a small amount of clotted blood quickly accumulated.

Just when the blood clot was nearly cleared, Doctor Fan’s pupils abruptly constricted; he realized that he no longer had enough Magic Elements to sustain the procedure.

Since he had started learning late, he was just a Magician specialized in Water Element Magic, completely insufficient to maintain a craniotomy. Last time, his inability to persist to the end had resulted in a lifetime of regret for the patient.

"Doctor Fan, let me handle the next part," Yun Sheng stepped forward, her hand now holding a gleaming small knife. With her fingers moving deftly in a speed hard to detect by naked eyes, she cleaned out the remnants of the blood clot in the boy’s brain.

Yun Sheng’s expression was solemn as she finished draining the pooled blood in the boy’s skull and swiftly began suturing the child’s head wounds.

Her threading resembled a dragon riding the wind, as her needlework perfectly stitched the boy’s skin together, leaving only the tiniest of seams visible.

The entire process was in the blink of an eye.

Had Doctor Fan not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that someone could complete such intricate suturing in such a brief period.

Yun Sheng, who exactly is she!