Surgery Godfather
Chapter 1008 - 839: Experience as Chief Surgeon_2

Chapter 1008: Chapter 839: Experience as Chief Surgeon_2

Many neurosurgeons lacked formal training in microsurgery, and even those who underwent short-term training did so hastily. Only a few hospitals provided systematic and formal microsurgery training; most doctors briefly trained themselves before heading into the battlefield.

The General Surgery Department lacked the basic Laparoscopic Training, making laparoscope a special skill for some doctors, rather than a basic skill that every surgeon in General Surgery should master.

From school to hospital, there was no awareness of skill training, let alone departments specifically responsible for skill training and assessment. The so-called experienced surgeons mentoring newcomers hardly existed in reality. In some top-tier hospitals, the situation was much better. In ordinary hospitals, doctors grew wild, completely self-taught through trial and error.

Thus, many doctors who graduated with a PhD a few years ago and had already become associate chief doctors, were still unable to suture and cut lines proficiently and according to standards. They had published numerous papers and performed many surgeries and could speak eloquently at academic conferences for an hour, but they still couldn’t fully recognize their specialty’s surgical instruments.

"We are preparing to resect the left hepatic lobe, Director Fang, please pick out the round ligament!"

Yang Ping reminded Director Fang.

But Director Fang was completely perplexed. With the heap of soft, collapsed stuff, where tumors and organs mixed together, he had no idea which was the liver or the round ligament.

"Professor Yang, I came to experience—" Director Fang honestly admitted that he couldn’t keep up with the pace.

Upon hearing this, Yang Ping realized that Director Fang was here to experience life. Without any choice, Yang Ping had to slow down to accommodate Director Fang’s pace. The patient had been brought in by Director Fang, and they had already communicated about the surgery beforehand, agreeing to let him assist. Everyone forgot this when the surgery started. Now that it was hard for him to step up, they had to look after him to some extent and let him have a taste, as the Surgical Research Institute couldn’t break its promise.

There was no rush. Yang Ping was planning to have lunch when Xu Zhiliang returned.

Yang Ping said to Director Fang, "Come on, Old Fang, try experiencing the chief surgeon’s role."

Chief Surgeon?

Director Fang shook his head. He dared not take the lead in such a surgery. His senior brother, a nationally renowned expert in pancreatic tumor surgery, wouldn’t dare to claim that role. How could he, Old Fang, dare to be the chief surgeon? He knew his own limitations.

Yang Ping stepped aside from the chief surgeon’s position, "Old Fang, come here, try this out. This is your patient, after all. Don’t worry, I’ll be your assistant."

Seeing that Yang Ping was serious and not joking, and hearing that Yang Ping would assist him, Director Fang felt a bit eager to try and hesitantly moved to the chief surgeon’s position. If anything went wrong, he could always hand it over to Yang Ping.

Using a scalpel was definitely out of the question for Director Fang, but trying with tissue scissors was still acceptable. Director Fang adjusted the tissue scissors in his hand, trying to find the right feel.

Yang Ping gently lifted some tissue with his vascular clamps, while another set of tissue clamps pointed to a spot: "Move slowly. Start cutting from here with the tip of the scissors, keep the opening and closing amplitude as small as possible, no rush."

Director Fang followed Yang Ping’s guidance, cutting little by little. After all, he was an experienced doctor who had been working for over a decade and his level was good, though anyone would find it hard to keep pace with Yang Ping, who was superhuman.

Under the guidance and protection of Yang Ping, Director Fang followed closely. Wherever Yang Ping lifted the tissue with his vascular clamps, he would cut, stopping immediately whenever Yang Ping blocked with his clamps.

Whenever they were about to touch the blood vessels, Yang Ping would always use the tip of his vascular clamps to separate the blood vessels, then pass them to Director Fang for electrocoagulation or ligation.

In this manner, Director Fang gradually progressed the surgery, and the speed was not bad.

Could he really do it himself? Director Fang had never performed such a smooth operation, the surgical area was clean, and there was hardly any bleeding.

Every step was prepared in advance by the assistant, who did the guidance and exposure work well; he only needed to follow the assistant’s directions. The surgery felt almost divine, and Director Fang enjoyed it more and more.

Director Shi watched enviously from below, thinking, "My junior performs the surgery so smoothly; why couldn’t I keep up with the pace earlier? It must be an issue of adaptation. I’ll try again if another opportunity arises."

Director Fang grew more adept as the surgery progressed, feeling fantastic. The metastatic tumor had already merged with the left part of the liver. If he intended to completely remove the tumor, he had to perform a resection of the left hepatic lobe, which also meant cutting some blood vessels at the hepatic portal, thereby increasing the difficulty of the surgery.

Wearing fluorescent glasses and focusing intently, Director Fang steadily advanced with the robust collaboration of Yang Ping, exuding a true professional demeanor.

"Xiao Chen, take a few pictures for me, from different angles, take several, and record a video, hurry!"

Director Fang suddenly remembered about taking pictures and immediately instructed his graduate student to do so. Now that he was the chief surgeon, these photos would later serve to boast about this rare opportunity.

Yang Ping gently lifted the tissue on both sides with two vascular clamps, creating a perfect spot in between for cutting with scissors, and Director Fang’s scissors always cut shallowly, ensuring safety.

Now, they were about to cut through the hepatic parenchyma to perform the hepatic lobectomy, and Director Fang grew more confident.

Cutting through the hepatic parenchyma would sever some small blood vessels, but the assistant’s vascular clamps were too formidable, giving these vessels no chance at all. As soon as the blood vessels were cut, the assistant’s clamps would immediately secure the ends, allowing Director Fang to easily execute electrocoagulation by touching the tips of the clamps with the electric knife.

Even slightly larger blood vessels were no issue; Director Fang would simply ligate them if necessary.

Moreover, it seemed as if the assistant’s vascular clamps were endlessly available, appearing timely without any hesitation.

Yang Ping’s vascular clamps held the already severed hepatic round ligament, lifting gently, while another clamp guided Director Fang forward. Using the hepatic round ligament as a landmark, Director Fang carefully cut through the anterior part of the left coronary ligament. Yang Ping pulled the left outer lobe of the liver aside, exposing the posterior part of the left coronary ligament to facilitate its resection by Director Fang, who carefully separated it under guidance, isolating the left triangular ligament area.

Typically, Director Fang was experienced and confident in performing standard hepatic lobectomies. However, this case was unique and the tumor was particularly tricky. Now that Yang Ping had prepared everything, the surgery became almost foolproof for Director Fang; all he needed was not to mess up, just hold the scissors and cut vigorously.

Many doctors from the General Surgery Department were watching the screen intently in the operating room. Director Fang puffed out his chest, exuding the aura of a significant figure. Everyone harbors a desire to impress, and Director Fang was no exception.

The tissue scissors continued to isolate, and not only blood vessels, but also some small intrahepatic bile ducts were severed as the hepatic parenchyma was cut, their ends retracting.

But there was no need to worry; the assistant was efficient, firmly clamping the ends with the vascular clamps. Whether they were blood vessels or intrahepatic bile ducts, none were overlooked. As the assistant lifted these ends, the suture was already handed to him, and all Director Fang needed to do was confidently tie the knots.

Finally, the left hepatic lobe, along with the tumor invading it, was completely separated, the entire process clear and clean.

"Anesthesiologist, I’m about to move the left hepatic lobe!"

Director Fang announced loudly. At every critical juncture of the surgery, the chief surgeon must remind the anesthesiologist to report the vital signs, which also served as a declaration of Director Fang’s status as the chief surgeon.

The gaze of physicians, masters, doctors, and standardized training students from the General Surgery Department shifted from the screen to Director Fang, all holding him in high regard. Such a significant surgery was skilfully handled by Director Fang, so far without damaging a single blood vessel, leaving the surgical area spotless. When had Director Fang become so skilled, even mastering the Surgical Research Institute’s "bloodless surgery"? Truly, real skill is not outwardly shown.

"How about it? Director Fang, are you tired? Do you need to rest for a while?"

By this time, Xu Zhiliang had finished eating, and it was Yang Ping’s turn to have a meal. Yang Ping asked with concern.

Director Fang was deeply engrossed: "No need, keep going. I’ll finish excising all the tumors then let you guys do the autotransplantation, giving you a breather too."